Volt closes Series B, Augmentum holding value increases

RNS header: Volt closes Series B, Augmentum holding value increases

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL 2014 ON MARKET ABUSE, AS AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, WHICH IS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.

21 June 2023

Augmentum Fintech plc

Volt completes Series B with $60 million raise, increase in value of Augmentum's holding

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) (the "Company" or "Augmentum"), Europe's leading publicly listed fintech fund, announces that it has made a further £5.4 million investment into Volt, the real-time payments infrastructure company, as part of Volt's $60 million Series B funding round led by new investor IVP, the Silicon Valley-based technology venture capital fund. New investor, CommerzVentures, is also participating in the round alongside existing investors EQT and Fuel Ventures.

The new round implies a value of the Company's existing stake of £[17.8] million, which represents an uplift of £[11.4] million on the unaudited carrying value of £6.4 million as at 30 September 2022. As this new round has closed after Augmentum's year end of 31 March 2023, the new valuation will not be fully reflected in the updated NAV disclosed in the Company's Annual Report when it is released on 4 July. Augmentum first invested in Volt in December 2020 with an investment of £0.5 million and has invested a further £4.0 million since then, excluding this latest investment.

Recent milestones for Volt include a new global partnership for real-time payments with Worldpay from FIS, the world's largest merchant acquirer, and partnering with Shopify, the global ecommerce platform, to become their first open banking provider.

Volt intends to use the additional capital to fund expansion into new international markets such as APAC and the Americas, and support product development in existing markets across Europe, the UK and Brazil.

Perry Blacher, Partner at Augmentum Fintech, said: "We are excited to continue to back the Volt team. The new capital and the addition of leading investors IVP and CommerzVentures serve as further reinforcement for the company's accelerating growth trajectory, as they continue to deliver their world-class service to global merchants."

This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV of the Company.*

Enquiries:

Augmentum FintechTim Levene, Portfolio ManagerGeorgie Hazell Kivell, Marketing and IR	[phone]
Quill PRNick Croysdill, Sarah Gibbons-Cook(Press and Media)	[phone]
Peel Hunt LLPLiz Yong, Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy(Investment Banking)	[phone]
Singer Capital MarketsHarry Gooden, Robert Peel, Alaina Wong(Investment Banking)	[phone]
Frostrow Capital LLPPaul Griggs, Company Secretary	[phone]

*The Company's NAV

This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV of the Company. The Company's NAV and NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023, both prior to and post performance fee, will be calculated in accordance with the Company's valuation policy and are expected to be announced with the Company's full year results on 4 July 2023. Shareholders should note that the calculation of the NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023 will take account of the valuations of all of the Company's investments as at 31 March 2023 and any applicable costs and charges[, and that the NAV as at 31 March 2023 is not expected to fully reflect the increased valuation of Volt due to Volt's latest fundraise closing after Augmentum's year end].

About Augmentum Fintech

Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the financial services sector. Augmentum is the UK's only publicly listed investment company focusing on the fintech sector in the UK and wider Europe, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines and giving public markets investors access to a largely privately held investment sector during its main period of growth.

About Volt

Founded in 2019, Volt is building the infrastructure for global instant payments. Today, its open payments gateway allows merchants and PSPs to process transactions securely between accounts held at more than 5,000 banks in the UK, the EU and Brazil. Volt's unique aggregation model provides unrivalled open payments reach and maximises the speed, security and resilience of transactions.

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