New HessenFonds over € 1 billion — BMH manages € 250 million of these investments

Wies­ba­den — With the launch of the state of Hesse’s new Hessen­Fonds, BMH Betei­­li­­gungs-Mana­ge­­men­t­­ge­­sel­l­­schaft Hessen mbH is also taking up its role as mana­ger of Hessen­Fonds Betei­li­gun­gen GmbH. With a total volume of one billion euros, the fund aims to promote inno­va­tion and trans­for­ma­tion in the Hessian economy. 

The Hessian state govern­ment estab­lished the Hessen­Fonds with the aim of support­ing start-ups and small and medium-sized enter­pri­ses in all phases of their busi­ness in the areas of inno­va­tion and trans­for­ma­tion. Wirt­­schafts- und Infra­struk­tur­bank Hessen (WIBank) is respon­si­ble for imple­men­ting the Hessen­Fonds. Of the fund’s total volume of one billion euros, 750 million euros will go to WIBank for loan products and 250 million euros to Hessen­Fonds Betei­li­gun­gen GmbH. The fund’s invest­ment period extends from 2025 to 2034. 

The invest­ments start at 200,000 euros and amount to a maxi­mum of 10 million euros per company. The funds are inves­ted in the form of silent parti­ci­pa­ti­ons or direct parti­ci­pa­ti­ons. Silent parti­ci­pa­ti­ons gene­rally have a term of eight years and in the case of direct parti­ci­pa­ti­ons, Hessen­Fonds acqui­res shares in the company, with the aim of selling the shares after five to seven years. Compa­nies can use the funds, for exam­ple, to invest in company restruc­tu­ring, the expan­sion and acqui­si­tion of new machi­nery and equip­ment, auto­ma­tion, digi­ta­liza­tion and rese­arch and deve­lo­p­ment. The intro­duc­tion of the Hessen­Fonds is part of a compre­hen­sive stra­tegy by the state govern­ment to streng­then Hessen as a busi­ness loca­tion and support compa­nies in adap­ting to struc­tu­ral change. 

Dr. Stef­fen Huth, Mana­ging Direc­tor of BMH, explains: “With the Hessen­Fonds, we as an invest­ment company can provide targe­ted support where compa­nies need capi­tal for growth, trans­for­ma­tion and inno­va­tion. Our focus is on sustainable busi­ness models, digi­tal deve­lo­p­ment and streng­thening SMEs in Hesse. Toge­ther with WIBank and the state of Hesse, we can thus make an active contri­bu­tion to the future econo­mic viabi­lity of Hesse as a busi­ness location.”

Jürgen Zabel, also Mana­ging Direc­tor of BMH, adds: “We see oursel­ves as an equal part­ner for Hessian compa­nies that want to take the next step in their deve­lo­p­ment. Hessen­Fonds opens up new scope for future-orien­­ted invest­ments — be it in the deve­lo­p­ment of new tech­no­lo­gies and products, entry into new markets or the imple­men­ta­tion of inno­va­tion and tran­s­­for­­ma­­tion-orien­­ted stra­te­gies. Company succes­si­ons can also be supported with the HessenFonds.”

About BMH

BMH Betei­­li­­gungs-Mana­ge­­men­t­­ge­­sel­l­­schaft Hessen mbH, based in Wies­ba­den, was foun­ded in 2001 and is a wholly owned subsi­diary of Landes­bank Hessen-Thürin­­gen Giro­zen­trale (Helaba). Through Wirt­­schafts- und Infra­struk­tur­bank Hessen (WIBank), BMH is actively invol­ved in the econo­mic deve­lo­p­ment acti­vi­ties of the State of Hesse. As a medium-sized invest­ment and venture capi­tal company, BMH bund­les public invest­ment inte­rests and finan­cing instru­ments for early-stage, growth and medium-sized compa­nies in Hesse. BMH curr­ently mana­ges six invest­ment funds with a volume of over 200 million euros. Since its foun­da­tion, BMH has inves­ted in more than 500 compa­nies. Invest­ment focus areas include the software/analytics, fintech/insuretech, life science, deep tech, IoT/industrial tech, hardware/industrial goods and clean­tech sectors.
More infor­ma­tion about BMH and its funds: www.bmh-hessen.de