Libelium, a Spanish technology company specializing in the IoT, has signed a capital raising deal to incorporate the investment firm Axon Partners. With the entry of this venture capital group in its shareholding, Libelium receives a boost to the strategic growth project.
This financial operation opens a new stage for the consolidation of Libelium in the technological market of sensor devices, whose activity began in 2006 as a spin-off of the University of Zaragoza, led by its two founding partners, Alicia Asín and David Gascón.
Gascón’s departure in December 2020 marked the end of an age in Libelium and gave way to a new stage with Alicia Asín at the forefront of the company and business management. This was the first milestone of a strategic operation aimed at the organic and inorganic growth of the company, with an eye on the entry of new investment partners.
The capital increase guarantees the continuity of the company’s activity, which will remain headquartered in Zaragoza (Spain).
For Axon Partners Group this is the first investment through its sixth direct investment fund Axon Innovation Growth IV (FAIG4), the first crossover fund in Spain, and one of the first in Europe to invest in scale-up companies with a high investment component innovation and IPO.
With the investment in this company, Axon is committed to the Internet of Things sector, the technology that, through sensors, captures external data to later process it digitally. It is a key sector that plays a fundamental role in the digital transformation processes of companies in which the European Commission is envisioning as the next great step towards the digitization of society and the economy.
Axon intends to systematize the crossover strategy, which consists of investing in private companies and then seeking an exit to a listed market, preferably an alternative market, with a special focus on BME Growth or Euronext.
From now on, Libelium faces two challenges: The expansion of its brand positioning in the international market and the commitment to invest in every business line covering technological solutions for applications as diverse as precision agriculture, smart cities, or industrial digitization.
To this end, it has an ambitious plan to launch new products based on R&D developments spearheaded by the new engineering team.
Furthermore, the investment operation is accompanied by a plan to expand the workforce by 30% in 2021 with the recruitment of new professionals who are already being integrated into the current structure.
In terms of turnover, the growth objective is to double current revenues. To achieve this, the strategic plan envisages the acquisition of different companies in the sector. They will provide new capabilities in artificial intelligence and cloud services, as well as companies that manufacture vertical solutions that will expand the existing product portfolio to reach new markets.
The company has already defined a pipeline of international companies that operate in the different verticals that Libelium wants to develop and has identified in Eastern Europe what would be the first acquisition of the inorganic growth plan. Axon will provide all its experience in corporate development to be able to execute this purchase plan.
In terms of internationalization, Libelium has customers in more than 120 countries. In this new phase, Libelium wants to strengthen its presence in the Spanish market as well as its distribution channel in strategic areas such as North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. In addition, the entry of Axon Partners will serve to reinforce relations between the business and public sectors in Latin America.
Our satisfaction with the new stage and the future that is opening up for the company with Axon Partners, which brings a wealth of experience in corporate development and will contribute to improving the company’s governance with a professionalized administrative advisors“.
We are very happy to enter the world of the IoT at the hands of a businesswoman of the calibre of Alicia Asín, who in her career from university to now, has been able to develop a company that has sold in more than 100 markets globally. We hope to contribute all our knowledge and experience to the growth of the company.
About Libelium:
Libelium designs and manufactures technology based on the Internet of Things (IoT) to develop solutions to improve the competitiveness of companies and people’s quality of life. Libelium’s technology has reached more than 120 countries with a network of customers, distributors and partners on five continents. The application of Libelium’s wireless sensor networks enables the development of precision agriculture, smart cities and industry 4.0 projects.
About Axon Partners Group:
Axon is a global investment, alternative asset management, and consulting company with a long history, a solid track record, and a presence in more than 85 countries. Since its inception in 2006, Axon has managed more than 600 million euros through different strategies with an average realized multiple of 3.3. It is in the Top 5 of the firms with the best returns in alternative assets in Europe in 2020 and in the Top 50 in 2019 according to Preqin. Axon combines international experience in world-class VCs, as well as global advisory and consulting.
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