Investing in energy & environment

Gimv Launches Cleantech Division

Set-up nearly 30 years ago, Gimv is the largest private equity group in Belgium and an increasingly important player in Europe. Having successfully navigated the dotcom bust and other recessions through a reasonably conservative investment approach in growing markets, the company today is reputed for its sustainable growth strategy. Set-up nearly 30 years ago, Gimv is the largest private equity group in Belgium and an increasingly important player in Europe. Having successfully navigated the dotcom bust and other recessions through a reasonably conservative investment approach in growing markets, the company today is reputed for its sustainable growth strategy. Not one to blindly ride the market’s ‘bubbles’, Gimv invests in companies that have the potential to deliver significant and sustainable economic value.

The company concentrates its energy in two areas: buyouts and growth financing and venture capital (focussed on high-tech start-ups). On the venture capital side, the company plays a particularly prominent role in the European technology and life sciences sectors. Many of the most successful Belgian high-tech companies, such as Option, LMS International, Metris, Telenet, Galápagos and Ablynx, were established with the help of Gimv.

In January 2009, Gimv launched a new Cleantech division. Housed within the successful Venture Capital group, Gimv seeks to make a substantial economic contribution to this increasingly important sector.

Building the Cleantech Division

Gimv first became involved in Cleantech in 2006. Applying its signature cautious approach, Gimv first adopted a fund-to-fund approach. As opposed to investing directly in Cleantech companies and setting up a dedicated division, the company first made an investment in another fund—Emerald Technology Ventures, an existing Cleantech market player. This company focuses on three areas: renewable energy, advanced materials (to combat the depletion of natural resources) and water solution companies (addressing urban growth and urbanization).

When Gimv first undertook this venture, the sector’s evolution was still largely uncertain. Even though the underlying trends were clearly powerful, one could argue that the label ‘Cleantech’ was unnecessarily hyped. Innovations in the domains of energy and environment are important, but could be covered anyway via Gimv’s Technology and Life Sciences divisions. Today, however, it is clear that Cleantech has emerged as a sector in its own right, both in the way the sector identifies itself and the way investments vehicles are beginning to organise themselves.

With the market further solidifying in 2007, the company made the decision to increase its commitment via a two-pronged approach: it increased its investment in Emerald, and, significantly, started recruiting specialists to form an own Cleantech division.

Today Gimv is at a point where a fully equipped team is in place, with Cleantech a division in its own right. Bart Diels, Partner in the technology team, takes responsibility for Cleantech and now leads the new division. The division has taken shape with some members of the team appointed from within Gimv, and some sourced externally – with an eye on building a broad range of competencies.

Core competencies

Gimv’s Cleantech division is a venture capital business and it is this competency —i.e. managing the full cycle of financing high-growth innovative companies — that will determine the success of the business. This is why the Cleantech team has been recruited mainly from Gimv’s Technology division—where the venture capital track record has been particularly strong. Cleantech director, Bart Diels, played a key role in some of Gimv’s most important venture capital investment and currently still serves on the board of several high-tech companies (e.g. Metris and Clear2Pay).