Davidson Technology Growth Debt Fund provides debt financing to mid-late stage tech companies in Europe, with a focus on Germany. Growth Debt is a form of hybrid capital, featuring both debt and equity components, customized for young and growing tech companies.
Growth Debt is an attractive, cheaper alternative to pure equity financing for companies that are beyond their proof of concept phase and offers a quick and simple process with flexibility in payback terms while keeping shareholders dilution and management distraction to a minimum. With Growth Debt you avoid valuation discussions, granting control rights to new investors and shareholder dilution. Equity rounds are far more time consuming and eventually more expensive.
Our typical borrowers are mid-late stage tech companies with min. €10M annual revenues, cash-flow positive or close to break-even. We would like you to use the loan to grow the business, expand to new markets, hire talent and increase shareholder value. Solid management team and ability to pay back the loan out of cash-flow are essential. Your accounts receivable, inventory and/or IP rights can serve as collateral.
A Growth Debt loan facility is significantly more flexible compared to standard lending terms from commercial lenders, such as banks. It is generally secured against the company’s assets and can be highly customized to the borrower’s individual needs, the cash-flow projections, growth milestones and working capital needs.
Growth Debt enhances the company’s cash buffer, helps leverage the equity capital and increases the return on equity. Due to its flexible form and structure it implies minimal to no dilution for shareholders. Startups achieve a more balanced and less costly capital structure and enhance their liquidity. Venture Debt can be complemented with senior bank debt and mezzanine financing options – Simple, flexible and cheaper than equity.
Eran Davidson founded Davidson Technology Growth Debt fund in 2014. Eran has 20 years of venture capital experience, raised and managed 6 funds with a volume of 260 Million Euro. From 2005 to 2013 Eran founded and managed Hasso Plattner Venture group of funds, which includes HPV Germany, HPV Europe and HPV Africa. From 1996 to 2005 Eran co-managed Inventech and Eurofund VCs and was CEO of Proseed Venture Capital fund. Eran is co-founder of Hasso Plattner Capital, the family office management company of Prof. Plattner, co-founder and Chairman of SAP. Eran led over a 100 investments in technology companies, which resulted in more than 1 Billion Euro in exit volume. Eran lives with his family in Berlin since 2005.
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Arnold has joined Davidson Capital as advisory board member from the beginning in 2015 and recently stepped up as Managing Partner in fall 2019. He is an ex-top executive of Deutsche Telekom international technology management consultancy Detecon (>1400 employees), and a very well-known figure in the German IT sector. He is the founder and owner of DXG Deutsche Digital, honorary professor of engineering of digital transformation at TU Berlin and was voted top 100 digital leader by Wirtschaftswoche already in 2012. He also was the youngest head of R&D of a DAX company at Deutsche Telekom (parent of T-Mobile). He has a record creation of 30 new businesses, subsidiaries, and spin-offs and a pioneer of the Berlin and Beersheva high-tech ecosystem.
He holds a MSc. Engineering from Stanford University and a Ph.D. Tech. Mgmt., MBR, Exec. Education from MIT, Harvard and Munich University. Heinrich is a strong networker and is advising deal execution, operations and portfolio management.
Anvar has been supporting Davidson Technology Growth Debt Fund since May 2015. He has more than 7 years of financial and business experience with a particular focus on TMT sector. He started his career in Equity Research at Alfa-Bank, one of the top Russian private banks. After that Anvar worked in Mergers & Acquisitions at Corporate Finance Partners (now ACXIT Capital Partners), German mid-cap TMT advisory. Then he joined Corporate Development team at Bertelsmann, the biggest European media company. Prior to Davidson, he was Director Finance at AUTO1 Group, one of the fastest growing Unicorns in Europe. Anvar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (with honors) from the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) and a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from the Humboldt University (Berlin). He is a CFA charterholder.
Inga joined the Fund in 2017 as Management Assistant. She is supporting daily operations and is responsible for all investor relationship and marketing matters. She holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Management from HU Berlin and gained significant work experience in Marketing and Sales at Handelsblatt and while working in New York with the American Council on Germany.
Companies supported by Davidson Technology Growth Debt
