Augmentum Fintech Plc – NatWest Group acquires Cushon

by James · February 13, 2023

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AS STATED UNDER REGULATION (EU) NO. 596/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 16 APRIL 2014 ON MARKET ABUSE, AS AMENDED FROM THE TIME TO THE OTHER THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED.

13 February 2023

Augmentum Fintech plc

Proposed acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) (the “Company” or “Augmentum”), Europe’s leading listed fintech fund, announces that NatWest Group, the FTSE 100 banking and financial services group, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Cushon, a portfolio investment of the company. The acquisition will, among other things, be conditional on receiving the necessary approvals from the authorities. This transaction will represent Augmentum’s fifth successful portfolio investment exit, all of which have been at or above the most recently reported holding value.

Augmentum first invested in workplace savings and Net Zero pension provider Cushon (www.cushon.co.uk) in June 2021 with a £5 million investment as part of Cushon’s Series A fundraising round, and since that date the company has invested a further 5, 8 pounds. million.

Augmentum is expected to receive proceeds of £22.8m from the completion of the acquisition, representing a 46.2% increase on its unaudited 30 September 2022 book value of £15.6m, a multiple of 2.1x on cost and an IRR of 66.3%1.

Augmentum expects this transaction to be completed within the next 12 months. The transaction involves an increase of 3.1p compared to the last published NAV per ordinary share after performance fee (unaudited) as of 30 September 2022 of 155.0p. This announcement does not constitute or describe an updated NAV for the company2.

Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, said: “The acquisition of Cushon by NatWest Group marks Augmentum’s fifth realization since its IPO and demonstrates the strategic nature of many of the assets in our portfolio. Financial players are increasingly looking to accelerate their digital transformation through to acquire innovative, digital-first propositions. The pensions industry has certainly suffered from a lack of transformative innovation to date, and with their Net Zero pension offering and technology-led approach, Cushon is a true digital disruptor. We wish Ben Pollard and team all the best for their next phase with NatWest”.

Notes:

1 Assuming completion on 30 April 2023.

2 The Company’s NAV and NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023, both before and after performance fees, will be calculated in accordance with the Company’s valuation policy and is expected to be published together with the Company’s full-year results. Shareholders should note that the calculation of the NAV per ordinary share as at 31 March 2023 will take into account the latest valuations of all the Company’s investments as at 31 March 2023 and any applicable costs and fees.

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