TVM Capital Group Announces Two-pronged Global Investment Strategy with Renewed MENA Focus

DUBAI, UAE, November 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



During BioEurope Conference in Vienna, TVM Capital clarifies its international set up and investment strategy: two independent investment teams to focus on Healthcare Private Equity investments in the MENA region and Life Science Venture Capital investments in Western Europe and North America.

TVM Capital, who has long been a leading international investment firm, announced that it will sharpen its investment focus and exclusively invest in innovative healthcare delivery, pharmaceutical and medical device companies through its private equity team TVM Capital MENA, based in Dubai, and finance innovation in biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies through its venture capital team, based in Munich and Montreal.

Dr. Helmut Schühsler, Chairman of TVM Capital comments: "We experience a significant opportunity through the rapid ascension of emerging markets and the MENA region is becoming an attractive investment geography for private equity investment into private healthcare. At the same time, the market for biotechnology company financings has proved to be difficult, with the public market seeing a tremendous surge in interest and public financings being the most important contribution to the industry's well-being in 2013. In our 30-year history we have lived through several bull and bear markets in our target industries and have managed to adjust our strategy and to change the way we do business. What has never changed though is our unwavering focus on innovation and quality. I am personally proud of the evolution of our firm into a global investment house with a clear focus on innovation for patients. Bringing innovative solutions to the healthcare market also comes with great return opportunities for our investors."

TVM Capital in Healthcare Private Equity

TVM Capital MENA targets the growing investment opportunity in private sector healthcare across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Turkey and India. The Dubai-based firm is led by Chief Executive Dr. Helmut Schühsler and consists of a team of four investment professionals and more than five executives-in-residence. It enjoys continuously increasing, high quality deal flow, and has the proven ability to conceptualize and develop new investment opportunities to address market gaps in healthcare delivery as well as bring top-rated Western service providers/operators as well as products to the MENA region and create and grow exciting companies locally. Very recently, TVM Capital MENA has signed an affiliation with Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, a US-based global leader in rehabilitative care, long term acute care, home care and related research. As the official teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Spaulding is at the forefront of research in the respective fields which will enable the portfolio companies to continue building centers of excellence in their respective fields. TVM Capital MENA has to date invested in four companies, three are in the broad field of long-term care, home care and fertility. These four companies established their initial operations in the UAE and in the case of our fertility clinic, Bourn Hall International, also North and South India. They are now all in the process of expanding their businesses into other and adjacent regions/countries, such as other states in India, as well as countries in the Middle East, such as Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. The portfolio companies are on average 25 months old, but already employ close to 500 healthcare professionals and have 2013 revenues of about US$40 million.

TVM Capital in Life Science Venture Capital

Dr. Hubert Birner, who leads the TVM Capital Life Science Venture activities together with fellow Managing Partner Dr. Luc Marengere based in Montreal, states: "We continue to invest in Germany, Europe, Canada and the U.S., with our dedicated team of currently nine investment professionals based in Montreal and Munich. Our new fund TVM Life Science Venture VII gives us the opportunity to invest in exciting life science opportunities at a time when capital is scarce and opportunities are abundant in our preferred investment geographies and beyond."

Of note, TVM Capital Life Science is developing a growing focus on Asia and recently entered into a number of collaborations in Korea including one with the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF).

Editors Note

About TVM Capital

TVM Capital is a group of globally acting venture capital and private equity firms with an operating track record of 30 years. Investment teams have financed more than 250 emerging companies across several industries since 1984. During the last 15 years the firm has become increasingly specialized in the most attractive and high-growth verticals in the broader healthcare markets, with focus areas in financing innovative products and technologies in the European and U.S. biopharmaceutical and medical device markets, as well as healthcare services in the Middle East and India. TVM Capital funds operate globally with dedicated Life Science venture capital funds advised by group members TVM Life Science Management in Montreal and TVM Capital in Munich, and its healthcare private equity fund managed by TVM Capital MENA out of Dubai. http://www.tvm-capital.com

About TVM Capital Healthcare Private Equity

TVM Capital MENA was established in 2009 and has since then been led by Chairman & CEO, Dr. Helmut M. Schühsler. The firm is focusing on making growth capital and small buyout investments from its first fund, TVM Healthcare MENA I, in healthcare companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), India and Turkey that are or can become leaders in the regional markets. The company has assembled a strong team of investment professionals and healthcare operators as executives-in-residence who collectively have developed an ability to conceptualize and develop business opportunities in the target markets that provide investors with completely proprietary deal flow and investment opportunities. TVM Capital MENA has broken new ground with four portfolio investments to date in specialized services that were either non-existent or drastically undersupplied e.g. long-term care, rehabilitation, home care and world-class fertility treatment. The firm operates out of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) and is licensed and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). http://www.tvm-capital.com or http://www.tvm-capital.ae

About TVM Capital Life Science Venture

TVM Capital Life Science is providing venture capital to the international pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and medical technology industries with more than 25 years of transatlantic investment track record and in excess of US$1.1bn under management. The life science team boasts more than 120 investments and almost 90 exits in the last 25 years, including more than 40 initial public offerings on all major U.S. and European stock exchanges, and combines long-standing international investment and company building experience with their track record of dedicated board work, extensive global networks in the world of life science research and product development and a direct knowledge of the local markets. TVM Capital Life Science currently invests from its 7th fund generation, TVM Life Science Ventures VII, with an integrated team of investment professionals. Fund generations III to VI are managed by Managing Partners, Dr. Helmut M. Schühsler and Dr. Hubert Birner out of the Munich office.The new fund TVM LSV VII is managed by Dr. Hubert Birner and Dr. Luc Marengere out of Montreal. http://www.tvm-capital.com or http://www.tvm-lifescience.com