DCTP, an investment company with corporate shareholders, has sold some its startup portfolio to Pinegrove Venture Partners to generate cash.
DTCP, an independent investment management firm which was previously the venture arm of Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, has partnered with a secondary VC fund to offload some its late-stage portfolio companies in a bid to generate cash for its limited partners.
DTCP, which has $3bn in assets under management, has entered a transaction with Pinegrove Venture Partners, a VC fund, to offload a portfolio of late-stage private software assets. Pinegrove has invested nearly $80m in the deal, which DCTP will use to unlock liquidity for its shareholders. DCTP’s shareholders include Deutsche Telekom and carmaker Porsche.
The transaction is part of growing trend among corporate venture capital units to sell portfolios or individual investments to venture capital firms in the secondary market as a way to generate liquidity. More CVCs are choosing to sell portfolio investments this way amid a dearth of IPOs.
DCTP launched this transaction to provide optionality to existing limited partners while reaffirming its long-term commitment to its portfolio companies, according to a release.
DTCP specialises in investing in enterprise software startups pursuing series B funding. It also invests in AI infrastructure, data, 5G and internet-of-things technologies. It has around 50 portfolio companies. Investments include Aircall, Arctic Wolf Networks, Auth0 (acquired by OKTA), Guardicore (acquired by Akamai), Fastly and LeanIX (acquired by SAP SE).
Deutsche Telekom also has specialist corporate investment vehicles, including T.Capital, which supports the German telco’s strategic investments, and Incharge Capital Partners, a joint venture with Porsche SE, the financial holding company of the German carmaker and its family owners.
The assets transferred to Pinegrove will continue to be supported by DCTP through the new capital base, says the release.
