Merian Chrysalis Investm... Share Discussion Threads

[purplepelmets] 19/12/2020 07:24

very satisfactory performance here of late

[rambutan2] 20/7/2020 20:19

Cash profits proof:

20 July 2020

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited (the "Company")

Portfolio Update

As announced on 27 May 2020, the Company's net asset value ("NAV") per ordinary share was 108.65p as of 31 March 2020.

Today, the Company announces that it has entered into a transaction to partially realise one of its investments in the portfolio; this realisation is expected to raise approximately GBP20m.

This transaction has been undertaken at a valuation that represents a material mark up in the Company's current carrying value of the asset. It is anticipated that, based on the information held by the Company as at today's date, it will lead to a gross increase in the NAV per ordinary share of approximately 9p as compared to the Company's last reported NAV per ordinary share (calculated on the assumption that the achieved sale price is applied to revalue the Company's remaining holding of the asset).

The details of this transaction currently remain confidential; a further update will be made by the Company in due course.

[rambutan2] 18/4/2020 21:00

26 March 2020

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited (the "Company")

Statement relating to COVID-19

This is an update due to the market uncertainty relating to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The Company would like to highlight that against this difficult backdrop its strategy remains unchanged and the Company is well-positioned at this time, in particular:

-- The Company has no leverage in place and has a strong balance sheet with approximately GBP65 million of cash, after allowing for the previously disclosed follow-on investment in Embark Group, which the Company expects to complete later in Q2 2020;

-- Less than 5% of the portfolio operates in business sectors most directly exposed to COVID-19, such as travel and leisure;

-- The top six positions in the portfolio (Transferwise, Starling Bank, Graphcore, Klarna, The Hut Group and Embark) accounting for ca. 87% of invested NAV, in aggregate continue to trade robustly versus Merian Global Investors (the "Investment Adviser") expectations, helped by the fact they are typically on-line based;

-- The majority of portfolio companies are tech-enabled: typically operating on cloud based systems, these dispersed business models are well suited to remote working;

-- The portfolio companies typically have no leverage, or have substantial balance sheet liquidity, and are often backed by other well-regarded investors;

-- The Investment Adviser has an active management strategy, with Board rights and/ or representation in certain cases, and so is closely engaged with portfolio companies' management and their strategy;

-- A number of the Company's holdings contain downside protection and / or liquidity preference structures; and

-- The Investment Adviser has activated its own business contingency plans and has seen minimal impact on its ability to transact business as a result.

While there will inevitably be some impact on the business plans of our key positions, the Investment Adviser's current assessment is that this is likely to be relatively modest for this group of companies. All of our investee companies have introduced business continuity programmes that the Investment Adviser considers appropriate for their organisations, as well as initial mitigation strategies.

A number of them have also recently raised capital, including:

-- Graphcore - January 2020 raise of $150m, leaving a cash position of $300m;
-- Klarna - July 2019 raise of $460m, with a further investment in March 2020; as of December 2019 CET1 ratio was 28.1%;

-- Starling Bank - February 2020 raise of GBP60m, following a total of GBP205m raised across 2019, including the CIF award;

-- The Hut Group - December 2019 raise of GBP66m of equity, in addition to substantial amounts of balance sheet liquidity; and

-- Embark Group - GBP84.5m raised over 2H 2019, leaving the company in a strong liquidity position.

In addition, Transferwise, Klarna and The Hut Group have proven profit generating capabilities.

Whilst it is early days in terms of the effects of COVID-19, and the full impact on trading of our investee companies is impossible to predict at this time, the Board and the Investment Adviser are closely monitoring the situation and offering support where needed, with a view to ensuring that any impact is mitigated wherever possible.

And the most recent fact sheet:

[rambutan2] 25/1/2020 19:45

Finals to 30/09 and annual report out yesterday. Manager's blurb is worth a read for some interesting comments on listed v unlisted developments. The one thing I noted was that they'd written down Growth St by 50% after unfavourable happenings (see pg13):



19. Post balance sheet events (putting to work £175m raised in Sept)
Following the end of the financial year end, the Company acquired additional shares in each of TransferWise Limited (22 October 2019 and 27 November 2019), The Hut Group Limited (24 October 2019) and Graphcore Limited (9 December 2019) at a total value of GBP71.9m from funds managed by the Investor Advisor or its affiliates.

On 11 December 2019, the Company announced a EUR14.4 million investment in wefox Group via a convertible loan note.

The Company also announced follow-on investments of (i) GBP20 million in Starling Bank Limited (21 October 2019); (ii) GBP12.2 million in Embark Group Limited (19 November 2019); and (iii) $25 million in Graphcore Limited 15 January 2020.

The result of the above transactions means the Company is approximately 80% fully invested.

On 17 January 2020, the Company converted the GBP7.5 m of convertible loan notes into preference shares in Growth Street Holdings Limited following approval from the FCA.

See below for more details:

[its the oxman] 10/1/2020 13:44

Thought this might be 130p plus by now.

[its the oxman] 02/1/2020 14:24

Not such a rocket, getting left behind by the market for now, c 125p.

[its the oxman] 02/12/2019 12:02

Looks to have upside from 120p, same price as recent placing and the holdings / investment funds backing this look reasonable.

[rambutan2] 29/6/2019 04:05

Interims:

The Net Asset Value ("NAV") at launch was 98.85p. As at 31 March 2019 the NAV was 108.41p. NAV total return for the period was 9.66%.

Portfolio

I am pleased to report that our rate of capital deployment was faster than anticipated, the net proceeds of the IPO was 70% invested as at 31 March 2019. As at 31 March 2019, in addition to the initial portfolio comprising investments in TransferWise Limited and Secret Escapes Limited, further investments had been made into The Hut Group Limited, Graphcore Limited and Growth Street Limited. A further investment in Starling Bank was announced during the period, on 13 February 2019. This transaction completed post the period end on 10 April 2019, bringing the company to 85% fully invested.

Following the raising of additional capital on 16 April 2019, we expect to notify the market on further investments in due course as Merian Global Investors (UK) Limited, our Investment Advisor, continues to evaluate opportunities currently in companies across various market sectors; there are several exciting opportunities going through the due diligence process.

The Investment Advisor's report reviews the market and provides more detail on the portfolio.

[rambutan2] 19/4/2019 03:56

And noted:

16 April 2019

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited (the "Company")

Result of Placing under Placing Programme

Further to the announcement made by the Company on 26 March 2019, the Company today announces that it has successfully raised gross proceeds of GBP100 million pursuant to the Placing. The Board and the Investment Adviser are pleased with the strong response to the Placing which will allow the Company to continue to invest in the exciting opportunities within the pipeline sourced by the Investment Adviser.

Accordingly, an aggregate of 90,909,091 new Ordinary Shares have been issued and allotted conditionally upon admission at a price of 110 pence per share.

Applications have been made for the admission of 90,909,091 new Ordinary Shares to listing on the premium listing segment of the Official List and to trading on the Main Market of London Stock Exchange Group plc ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings in the new Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 18 April 2019.

Following Admission, the Company will have 190,909,091 Ordinary Shares in issue. Therefore, the total number of voting rights of the Company will be 190,909,091 and this figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest, or a change to their interest in, the Company.

Richard Watts, Co-fund manager, commented:

"We are delighted by the level of demand from both existing and new investors. The Chrysalis proposition is resonating strongly with late-stage, private companies that are seeking new investors as they look to evolve their shareholder base, as evidenced by our ability to quickly deploy the initial Chrysalis launch proceeds."

Nick Williamson, Co-fund manager, commented:

"The growing opportunity for crossover investing in the UK and across Europe is compelling. Investors have recognised this and the new funds that they have provided will allow us to continue to pursue our exciting pipeline of opportunities."

[rambutan2] 19/4/2019 03:53

Noted:

12 April 2019

Portfolio Update

As announced by the Company on 5 March 2019, the net asset value ("NAV") per ordinary share of the Company was 98.54 pence as at 31 December 2018.

The Company is aware of pricing information attributable to an expected transaction by one of the Company's (six) portfolio investments, which represents a material increase in the value previously assigned by the Company to that investment. The Company is not participating in this transaction. As a result of this expected transaction, the Company estimates an increase of approximately 8.9 pence per ordinary share to the Company's last reported NAV per ordinary share.

The six investments MERI has made so far are set out here:

[rambutan2] 19/4/2019 03:50

For potential investors, the prospectus is well worth a read.

[rambutan2] 19/4/2019 03:32

The Company will invest in a diversified portfolio consisting primarily of equity and equity-related securities issued by unquoted companies.

Full RNS history: