Seed and venture fund investments

Mandate

Investinor makes indirect investments via funds/capital managers in the seed and venture phases. The private sector managers shall be responsible for the selection and follow-up of their investment objects. Each investment shall be made on a commercial basis and under the same commercial terms and conditions as for the other private sector investors. Investinor focuses primarily on managers and companies that contribute to Norwegian wealth creation. In the case of investment in funds that operate in many countries, the minimum share invested in Norwegian companies shall be equivalent to Investinor’s share in the fund. The mandate contains no limitations on the sectors in which Investinor may invest. However, the company shall prioritise investment in sectors with businesses that have potential global competitive advantages, that address the exploitation of key natural resources, that utilise innovative technologies and expertise, and/or that contribute to mitigating the effects of anthropogenic climate change and negative impacts on the environment. Investinor shall not own shares of more than 49% in any fund.

As well as the mandate described above, Investinor has also assumed the mandates and management of seed funds formerly administered by Innovation Norway. You will find more information here.

Assessment criteria

• The fund invests in companies in the seed and venture phases, with the aim of raising between NOK 150 and 1000 million, or more
• The manager(s) have succeeded in developing companies, have an extensive network and a proven ability to attract private capital
• The manager(s) have experience of active ownership
• The manager(s) have the willingness and ability to take their corporate social (ESG) responsibilities seriously
• Investinor focuses primarily on managers (new and existing) and companies that contribute to Norwegian wealth creation. There are no limitations on the sectors in which Investinor may invest.
• Investinor will typically invest amounts of between NOK 50 and 100 million in the seed phase, and between NOK 100 and 200 million in the venture phase

Process

For inquiries regarding investment opportunities, please use this contact form on our website. For general inquiries please click here.

1. If the manager/fund meets the assessment criteria, Investinor will invite the manager to a telephone or videoconference call during which an initial investor presentation will be made.
2. If, after the first call, Investinor wishes to continue with the process, the manager will be invited to a more detailed review.
3. If the manager/fund progresses further, a thorough review (due diligence process) will be carried out. On the basis of an overall assessment, Investinor will then judge which manager/fund will continue to the decision stage.
4. This process is handled by Investinor, which takes the final decision regarding its investment in the fund.

The order of stages 3 and 4 may vary, depending on the parameters of the fund.

Investinor – what we do

Investinor aims to be a reliable and attractive long-term investor offering capital investment, expertise and networks. We intend to achieve commercial returns on our fund investments. Investinor intends to use its fund investments to support the consolidation of new and existing fund initiatives.

A shareholders’ agreement, based on commercial terms and conditions, shall be entered into between the shareholders in the fund. The agreement shall regulate relations between the shareholders and govern the operation and administration of the fund. Investinor places significant emphasis on ensuring that the fund management team, co-investors and the company have the ability and willingness to discharge their social (ESG) responsibilities seriously and to exercise good business practice.

The private sector managers shall be responsible for the selection and follow-up of their investment objects. The fund management team shall report to Investinor using pre-prepared reporting templates. Investinor shall conduct ongoing meetings with the fund management team during the lifetime of the fund. Investinor shall make an assessment as to whether it can contribute with more than just capital, for example with benchmarking (analyses of which funds are doing well and why) and more active follow-up of the fund management team. Investinor intends to act as an active sparring partner and contributor to the fund management team and other liquidity providers.