SGT German Private Equity GmbH & Co. KGaA

Regulatory Filings • Jul 20, 2017

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Media | 20 July 2017 09:49

German Startups Group GmbH & Co. KGaA: German Startups Group significantly involved in InsurTech gonetto as lead investor

DGAP-Media / 20.07.2017 / 09:49

+++ Press release +++

for immediate release

German Startups Group as lead investor significantly involved in InsurTech gonetto, the first German online comparison portal for insurances without commissions that launches today

Berlin, 20 July 2017 – German Startups Group, the most active private venture capital investor in Germany since 2012 (CB Insights 2015, PitchBook 2016) and Berlin-based digital agency with 140 employees, is with 19% significantly involved as lead investor in startup gonetto, which offers insurances without commissions to customers starting today. The InsurTech company belongs to the stakeholdings of particular significance to German Startups Group. Apart from German Startups Group, Finanzenverlag as well as various business angels are among the investors.

gonetto is the first online provider of exclusively commission-free tariffs within the insurance industry and offers customers, for the first time, the opportunity to just pay for the actual coverage and, even with existing contracts, save the hidden commissions which account for a large portion of the insurance fee. Insurers usually also include commissions for the broker or comparison portal through which the contract is signed. Even if the broker is no longer known or the active support has been terminated, commission costs are still included in the annual fee and are paid by the client without being noticed. Starting today, customers can either take out commission-free net insurances directly through the gonetto portal and, instead of paying hidden commissions, only pay gonetto a fee of one euro per month/per contract. Or they can transfer the management of their existing insurance contracts to the gonetto portal and gonetto refunds the commission to the customer after the deduction of the gonetto fee. Since gonetto’s compensation is independent of type and amount of the insurance fee, the potential conflict of interest from which the trust in the traditional insurance business suffers no longer applies. The concept itself is endorsed by science and consumer protection, “The gonetto concept is in line with the desire of every consumer advisor and will revolutionise the insurance market. More transparency is not possible”, says Marc Tüngler, managing director of DSW – Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz e. V.

**Press contact

German Startups Group**

Marcel Doeppes

Mail: ir@german-startups.com

German Startups Group – We Love Startups!

German Startups Group is a listed investment company based in Berlin that focuses on young, fast-growing companies, so-called startups. The company acquires majority and minority shareholdings mainly by providing venture capital. The portfolio companies that German Startups Group holds also stand to benefit from German Startups Group’s expertise, experience and network with respect to strategy development, financing rounds, restructuring necessities, M&A transactions or selling the company, including a possible IPO. According to its own assessment, German Startups Group provides startups with so-called “smart money” by acquiring a shareholding. Its focus is on companies whose products or business models represent a disruptive innovation, allow for a high degree of scalability to be expected, and in which it has a great deal of trust in the entrepreneurial abilities of the founders to whom it feels that it obtains early access to due to its close relationships to relevant players in the startup scene. The geographical focus is on the German-speaking region. Since it commenced with operations in 2012, German Startups Group has in its opinion built up a diversified portfolio of investments in young companies and become the most active private venture capital investor in Germany since 2012 (CB Insights 2015, PitchBook 2016). 22 of the 41 minority stakeholdings in operationally active companies are of particular significance to German Startups Group and together comprise 90% of the total value of all 41 active minority stakeholdings. The ten core holdings alone make up 57% of the value of all active minority stakeholdings. According to German Startups Group, its investment portfolio reflects a cross-section of promising German startups of various maturity stages (“Seed,” “Early” and “Growth Stage,” by German Startups Group’s own definition) and includes some of the most successful and best known German startups.

More information is available on our website at www.german-startups.com .

About gonetto

gonetto is the first German online comparison portal for insurances without commissions. Apart from the transfer of management of existing insurances, gonetto shows gross and net tariffs for head-to-head comparison. Commissions get disclosed and refunded. gonetto receives a consumer-friendly fee in the amount of one euro per month/per contract directly and exclusively from the consumer. Managing directors and founders are Michael Mebesius, Steffen Otte and Dieter Lendle.

For more information see http://www.gonetto.d e .

End of Media Release

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Issuer: German Startups Group GmbH & Co. KGaA

Key word(s): Insurance

20.07.2017 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.dgap.de

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Language:	English
Company:	German Startups Group GmbH & Co. KGaA
	Tempelhofer Damm 2
	12101 Berlin
	Germany
Phone:	+49.30.6098890.80
Fax:	+49.30.6098890.89
E-mail:	info@german-startups.com
Internet:	www.german-startups.com
ISIN:	DE000A1MMEV4
WKN:	A1MMEV
Listed:	Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Tradegate Exchange; Open Market (Scale) in Frankfurt

End of News	DGAP Media