Tern Plc (LON:TERN), the investment company specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage, disruptive Internet of Things technology businesses, has noted that Sure Ventures PLC, a company in which Tern currently holds 2.7% of the equity, has announced that the disposal of Visibility Blockchain Limited (Getvisibility) is expected to generate a gross cash inflow to Sure Ventures of £1.52 million upon its completion, extracts of which are set out below.
Extracts from the Sure Ventures announcement:
Sure Ventures PLC, which invests in early-stage software companies in the rapidly growing technology areas of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and the Internet of Things, has announced that Sure Valley Ventures ICAV (Fund 1) has sold its entire position in Visibility Blockchain Limited (Getvisibility) in a cash sale to Forcepoint.
Getvisibility is a cybersecurity company focusing on data visibility and control and uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (“AI”) to classify and secure unstructured information and Forcepoint are a global leader in data and cloud security. The sale price will remain an undisclosed amount (the “Disposal”). However, the Disposal is expected to generate a gross cash inflow to Sure Ventures PLC of £1.52m.
The sale of Getvisibility would represent a c.4.5x multiple on SVV 1’s total investment. As at the 31 December 2024, the carrying value of the Sure Valley Ventures direct investment in Getvisibility was 7.024 million euros (on an unaudited basis). The sale of Getvisibility has been legally agreed by all parties but is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions that are customary for a transaction of this type.
Sure Ventures PLC will use this cash inflow to pay down the debt drawn from its loan facility, ensure sufficient working capital is in place to continue its strategy and then look to pay a dividend to shareholders. This will be in line with the expert tax advice sought and rules relating to its investment trust tax status.
Gareth Burchell, a Director of Sure Ventures PLC, said: “This is an excellent result for Sure Ventures PLC and its shareholders. We would like to congratulate the Sure Valley Ventures team, the founders of Getvisibility and all connected with the execution of this sale. The proceeds will be used to clear down our debt, keep cash to avoid shareholder dilution and then pay a dividend to shareholders which the board will announce in due course.
Importantly, the message we wish to send shareholders is that SVV Fund 1 is now in “exit mode” and now we have cleared our debt and made provision for the future, any further exits will see increased returns by way of further dividends”
