Pride Capital Partners finances KAIROS’ international growth and share-repurchase

Amsterdam/Düsseldorf/Bochum, June 18, 2018

KAIROS has attracted a mezzanine loan from Pride Capital Partners to finance its international growth strategy. KAIROS offers a unique combination of biobanking and clinical trial management software to European and North-American university hospitals and research centers.

KAIROS is headquartered in Bochum (GER) with offices in Berlin (GER) and Los Angeles (US). The company employs 37 people mostly in Germany. With KAIROS’ product CentraXX (“CXX”) hospitals and research centers are able to create a true connection between those collecting biospecimen and those searching for them. Through KAIROS’ dynamic and holistic approach, CXX users can structure biospecimen and donor data in an automated, standardized and comparable way.

Currently 29 of the 35 German university hospitals use CXX to operate their biobanking or clinical trial management systems – or both. In addition to the great potential in a far from saturated European and German market, KAIROS decided to make the next move to North-America. This market’s sheer size and the generally higher spending on IT in the healthcare sector explain the rationale behind this move. With two prestigious customers in North-America, KAIROS has established its first references in Canada and the US.

Martin Zünkeler (CEO KAIROS): “We are very impressed by Pride Capital’s level of efficiency and accuracy. It took them only three months from getting in touch with us to providing the loan.”

The mezzanine loan will be used to finance KAIROS’ expansion strategy. Primary focus is the creation of a sales channel in North-America and the “Americanization” CXX. Besides growth financing, a part of the mezzanine loan is reserved for repurchasing shares from early investors.

Martin Zünkeler (CEO KAIROS): “We were looking to attract growth capital to finance our international expansion and got in touch with Pride Capital Partners. The mezzanine loan provided KAIROS with sufficient liquidity to finance our international growth ambitions without impacting the shareholder base. Furthermore, a part of the mezzanine loan is reserved for a partial buy-out of early investors, increasing management’s and key employees’ shares on our upcoming international growth path. We are very impressed by Pride Capital’s level of efficiency and accuracy. It took them only three months from getting in touch with us to providing the loan.”

Lars van ‘t Hoenderdaal (Managing Partner Pride Capital Partners): ”KAIROS is a perfect example how to use a mezzanine loan. Foreign expansion is expensive, but will create substantial shareholders’ value. An equity injection would dilute the existing shareholders much more than using a mezzanine loan, so this financing solution is very cost effective. We have used this type of loan also in other growth scenario’s, like Spotzer, TravelBird and Talkwalker”.

Main Mezzanine Capital is a private debt company, focused on profitable and growing companies in the software and ICT market in Benelux and DACH region. Currently Main Mezzanine Capital is in the process of raising a new € 100M Mezzanine fund. Previous loans have been funded by its own shareholders, plus wealthy individuals, family offices and (former) entrepreneurs. Pride Capital has provided 18 mezzanine loans so far. Portfolio companies are a.o. OnGuard, DataManagement Professionals, Spotzer and The Valley.

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