Austrian/CEE Private Equity & Venture Capital Breakfast 2022

The panel discussion will be held in English and will be moderated by:

Poul Pedersen – Executive Chairman, Pedersen & Partners
Alexander Rakosi – Partner & Head of Private Equity, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz

Panel I: “The current landscape of venture capital investments”

Panellists:

Markus Lang – Partner, Speedinvest
Pekka Mäki – Managing Partner, 3TS Capital Partners
Niklas Pichler – Managing Partner, BlackPeak Capital
Klaus Vukovich – Managing Partner, Alantra Austria & CEE

Topics:

• Early stage investing in start-ups and SMEs – the role of Venture Capital/Venture Debt and the rise of ICO as an alternative means of funding;
• High opportunity sectors and market segments – Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce, FinTech, Life Sciences, Environmental, Renewables, Social and Governance (ESG), Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce, EdTech;
• Impact from the geopolitical arena and external factors: climate change and sustainability, digital transformation, fallout of Ukraine invasion and sanctions imposed on Russia, Covid-19 restrictions. How has deal-making changed when founders cannot be physically met (new ways of deal sourcing)?
• Exit prospects for portfolio companies: Austria vs. CEE – who are the typical buyers?
• Lessons learned from crisis – any relevant takeaways from the situation or are we just as (un)prepared for the next crisis as we were for this one?

Panel II: “Private equity as a driver of further economic development”

Panellists:

Philipp Freyschlag – Director, Bregal Unternehmerkapital
Gernot Hofer – Board Member, Invest AG;
Anna Hofmann – CEO and Founder, Greensource Energy
Karl Lankmayr – Managing Director, AG Capital
Farsin Yadegardjam – Partner, Co-Investor/EVP Capital

Topics:

• Recent developments and trends in the Austrian / CEE M&A market – including deal-flow, valuations, funding, availability of credit for leveraged financing, exit routes and strategies, co-investments;
• High opportunity sectors and market segments – Environmental, Energy/Renewables, Social and Governance (ESG), EdTech;
• Fund raising environment – who are the main sources of inbound capital: institutional investors, family offices, corporate ventures, sovereign wealth funds, multilaterals, fund of funds;
• Value creation – portfolio management & asset class strategies, turnaround and change management, succession planning, talent retention, disconnect between valuations and company performance;
• Outbound investment destinations – what geographies or regions have the highest potential for Austrian PE firms and their portfolio companies (Western Europe, CEE, Asia, Africa, Middle East, USA?).