DIGITAL MAGICS INVESTS IN PRESTIAMOCI WITH ITALIAN AND FOREIGN INVESTORS FOR A TOTAL FUNDING OF € 550,000

DIGITAL MAGICS INVESTS IN PRESTIAMOCI, INCUBATING THIS STARTUP, WITH ITALIAN AND FOREIGN INVESTORS FOR A TOTAL FUNDING OF € 550,000 

The venture incubator subscribes to the capital increase and enters with a relative majority shareholding into the corporate structure of the only Italian startup duly authorized by Banca d’Italia to act as a financial company for the management of a P2P lending platform 

The operation was carried out together with some business angels of the incubator network, important foreign investors and entrepreneurs which had already invested, including founder Mariano Carozzi, who continue to strongly believe in the initiative

Thanks to the Digital Magics services, the startup for peer-to-peer lending boosts technological development and strengthens the team with professionals and digital experts 

Milan, October 30, 2013 – Digital Magics, a certified venture incubator of digital innovative startups, listed on AIM Italia, Alternative Capital Market of the Italian Stock Exchange took part in the subscription – together with Italian and foreign investors – of a € 550,000 capital increase, thus entering with a 25.61% shareholding (equal to € 190,000) in the corporate structure of Prestiamoci, the only Italian startup that has been granted by Banca d’Italia the licence to act as a financial company for the management of a peer-to-peer lending platform.

A number of investors forming part of the Digital Magics‘ Angel Network – who collaborate with the incubator in the selection, mentorship and co-investiment of startups – joined this operation, together with important European and American private and institutional operators, expert in P2P lending at global level. Previous lenders who continue to support the Prestiamoci business idea are also participating in the round.

Among the Angel Network investors, the following took part in the initiative: Marco Valerio Bellini, Johan Bode, Financial Manager and Partner of KPMG Advisory, Pietro Boroli, Chairman of De Agostini Editore, Luca Fabio Giacometti, former CEO of GE Capital Equity Italia and co-founder of SPAC Made In Italy 1 and Board Member of Digital Magics, Luigi Lanari, former Partner of CVC Capital Partners, Dario Levi, former Chairman of ABN AMRO Corporate Finance, Giordano Martinelli, former Head of the equity investments of Anima SGR and now founder of AcomeA SGR, Stefano Miccinelli, founder of Investitori Associati, one of the leading Italian Private Equity firms, and Lodovico Rosnati, former Director of the Division of Borsa Italiana, the Italian Stock Exchange.

Besides the investment, Digital Magics strengthens Prestiamoci through the provision of high-profile incubator services such as business management, strategy and technology support, by including, within the team, qualified professionals specialized in managing scalable business, digital and finance, thus contributing to the platform’s development and to make the company’s products more competitive and innovative for the market.

Michele Novelli, new Partner of Digital Magics, has been in charge of the initiative taking care of the design of the new business plan, the relationships with investors and the operations developmentn. During the startup phase Novelli also acts as Managing Director of Prestiamoci (trade brand of Agata S.p.A.) with the consent of all shareholders. Daniele Loro, former Partner of Andersen and Managing Director of the financial boutique Arche’ has been reappointed Chairman, while Stefano Miari, former Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley and of Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been appointed Board Member.

According to the corporate governance, Digital Magics has the right to designate at least one member of the Board of Directors, as well as the Managing Director and an Acting Auditor.

SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS MODEL AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Thanks to the web platform of Prestiamoci investors can lend capital to private individuals or companies in a transparent manner, with the expertise in credit management typical of the banking system. Lenders benefit from excellent yields by investing in an asset class only, while loan applicants have lower interest rates.

P2P lending is an innovative business model established around the world: to date operators in this sector declare that they have disbursed over € 4 billion and in 2014 we are expecting the first billion dollar IPO by Lending Club, leader in the US, in which in May 2013 Google has invested $ 125 million with a valuation close to € 1.6 billion (source: Forbes October 2013 – http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2013/10/18/with-ipo-in-sight-lending-club-looks-to-upend-banking-industry/).

Peer-to-peer lending started in 2005 and there are currently more than 30 companies operating in this sector; among the most important are Lending Club, Prosper, Zopa, RateSetter, Funding Circle, Auxmoney, present in a number of Countries such as the US, China, Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Italy.

Michele Novelli, Partner of Digital Magics and Managing Director of Prestiamoci said: “Transparency, efficiency and co-participation are typical values of the web. Thanks to Prestiamoci, even the loan market will have the chance to incorporate these elements, making a leap into the future and innovating, as is happening in other industries, starting once again from startups and the digital sector”.

Enrico Gasperini, Founder and Chairman of Digital Magics said: “Prestiamoci boasts an innovative, ‘disruptive’ and worldwide highly scalable business model. We have decided to invest with our Angel Network because we believe that this digital startup may have a considerable and revolutionary impact in the system of loan collections in Italy'”.

This press release is available online on www.digitalmagics.com in the Investor Relations section.

 

Digital Magics – www.digitalmagics.com

Digital Magics is a certified venture incubator of innovative startups which provide high-tech contents and services.  Digital Magics is listed on AIM Italia, Alternative Capital Market of the Italian Stock Exchange for small and medium-sized Italian enterprises with high growth potential.  Digital Magics sets up and launches Internet startups, alongside the founders, investing equity capital and providing acceleration services. It starts from talents and ideas, transforming them into successful, disruptive businesses operating in the Italian and international digital economy. The incubator fosters a culture of entrepreneurship and risk, thus contributing to economic growth and increasing the youth-employment rate. Digital Magics provides services aimed at fostering the establishment and development of innovative startups and supports them in the subsequent stages of fund raising from private and public – both Italian and foreign- investors. The Digital Magics model is unique in Italy and is based on Digital Magics LAB, a team of professionals in charge of identifying, analyzing and launching new initiatives, providing innovative startups with mentorship as well as with Finance, Administration, Strategy, Logistics, Technology, Marketing and Communication services, besides delivering a Business Management support able to speed up the business growth process. 

Integrae SIM acts as Nomad and Specialist under AIM Italia Rules for Companies (Regolamento Emittenti AIM Italia).

For the transmission of communications Digital Magics uses the SDIR-NIS circuit, managed by BIt Market Services, a company of the London Stock Exchange Group.

Prestiamoci – www.prestiamoci.it

It is the Italian leading peer-to-peer lending platform. A brand owned by Agata SpA, a company registered as a financial intermediary. Duly authorized in 2009 by Banca d’Italia, Prestiamoci aims to develop the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market that allows investors to lend money to individuals and companies.  Prestiamoci facilitates the disbursement of the loan by financing part of it.

For further information:

Digital Magics – Press Office

Giorgio Bocchieri – Mail: giorgio.bocchieri@digitalmagics.com

Tel. 02 52505202 – Mob. 334 6853078

Burson-Marsteller – Digital Magics Press Office

Fabio Caporizzi – Mail: fabio.caporizzi@bm.com – Mob. 340 5250566

Rossana Pastore – Mail: rossana.pastore@bm.com – Mob. 340 1790470

Luca Fumagalli – Mail: luca.fumagalli@bm.com – Mob. 348 4586948

Integrae SIM –  Nomad

Luca Di Liddo  – Mail: luca.diliddo@integraesim.it

Tel. 02 78625300 – Mob. 334 6501346