Invesdor and Oneplanetcrowd merger to create EU crowdfunding giant
Invesdor and Oneplanetcrowd are set to merge, creating one of the largest crowdfunding platforms in Europe.
Invesdor is an equity-based crowdfunding platform based in Helsinki, Finland and Oneplanetcrowd is a sustainable crowdfunding platform based in Amsterdam.
Venture capital firm Unknown Group, which has invested in Oneplanetcrowd, welcomed the merger, saying it would form “the leading pan-European crowdfunding platform”.
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“With over 170,000 investors, the new combined company has financed more than €438m (£376.5m) in over 800 projects,” Unknown Group said.
“The merger gives Oneplanetcrowd access to the funders network of the Invesdor Group – already active in Finland, Germany and Austria – while Invesdor can leverage the expertise and network Oneplanetcrowd has built as the most sustainable funding platform in the Benelux.
“Both Oneplanetcrowd and Invesdor share the ambition to bring together impact entrepreneurs and investors from across the European Union.”
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The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Christopher Gratz, co-founder and chief executive of Invesdor, will become chief executive of the combined group, according to reports.
Maarten de Jong, co-founder and former managing director of Oneplanetcrowd, will join the management team of Invesdor Group and will be responsible for its activities in the Benelux.
“This merger paves the way to accelerate European innovation and the energy transition in the EU,” said Gratz, cited in the Unknown Group announcement. “Focussing on growth companies and sustainable energy projects, we are the first platform in the EU to offer this broad range of sustainable financing propositions, connecting investors, project developers and companies in different EU member states”.
He also said that the group does not rule out acquisitions of firms in other countries “in due course”.
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Oneplanetcrowd was the third platform to receive a European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSP) licence under the new EU-wide crowdfunding rules, which will now be incorporated into the Invesdor Group.
“The ECSP licence gives us a major head start in this promising growth market, which has a market value of over €2.47bn in our core markets alone represented,” said de Jong. “It allows us to position ourselves as a major established player that meets strict European quality criteria. With these European laws and regulations, the market has become more mature and transparent.”
The ECSP regulation aims to bring together all nationally-regulated P2P and crowdfunding platforms in Europe in one place, as well as allowing them to operate in all of the 27 European member states and to carry out cross-border transactions.
The regulations were finalised in late 2020 and became law in late 2021. A one-year transition period was initially set to end in November 2022 but has now been extended to November 2023, to give firms more time to comply.