Klaus Kleinfeld, former CEO of Siemens AG and president of Alcoa Inc., joins Linxfour as an investor, as Linxfour extend their growth investment round led by CCAP.
Vienna, Austria, September 19th, 2023
Linxfour, the European Fintech leasing company, based in Austria, providing Pay-per-Use financing solutions to manufacturing companies, announced its growth investment extension. Having launched its innovative financing product in 2022, the Viennese company has partnered up with global market leaders like Alfa Laval, Vermeer, Washtec or Engel, and has shown significant growth. The latest extension financing round was led by CCAP, a technology-focused investment firm, and attracted strong support from renowned investors, including Klaus Kleinfeld and the well-known technology and fintech investor Patrick Aisher of Kinled.
Klaus Kleinfeld states, "The business model of Linxfour reminds me of the time when traditional leasing first entered the manufacturing equipment industry. The unique pay-per-use financing solution of Linxfour has the potential to play an essential role in the industry, just as traditional leasing does since its invention many years ago."
Matthias Bertoldi, CEO of Washtec Austria, explains the Pay-per-Use solution of Linxfour, “a car washing operator pays back its financing cost per washed car, which matches its revenues with cost and unlocks off-balance sheet effects under IFRS16”. The car washing industry is just one of multiple industries, where Linxfour successfully financed projects. To date Linxfour has financed projects in ten European countries across twelve industries, demonstrating the strong demand for its flexible financing solutions.
Global equipment manufacturer Engel’s CFO Simon Zeilberger added: “Pay-per-Use from Linxfour is an interesting financing model. Our customers have demanded this utilisation-oriented form of financing, especially since the 2022 energy crisis”. The solution has been developed based on a vast amount of data and deep industrial and financial expertise of the team. Linxfour offers the product in 23 European countries. To enable fast scalability, Linxfour has developed a proprietary platform that captures Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data from machines and allows equipment manufacturers to generate quotes for pay-per-use financing for their customers with a few clicks at the point of sale.
“With the very successful extension of our growth investment and expanded investor base, we are one step closer to our vision to ‘transform the equipment finance industry’. We will further scale the Linxfour platform across Europe, expand our OEM partnerships and grow the underwriting and portfolio management teams.”, said Paul Bruckberger, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Linxfour.
Peter Oser, former banking and insurance executive, angel investor and Co-CEO of Linxfour, said, “An additional factor that strengthens the company's position is its focus on environmental impact. By extending the lifespan of each machine and returning it to the circular economy, Linxfour significantly contributes to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable finance.”
“Having invested in over 125 companies, including 25 FinTech companies in recent years, Linxfour truly stands out in my portfolio. The company's exceptional leadership team, which brings together Industrial IoT and finance expertise, empowers them to disrupt the equipment finance industry." highlighted Patrick Aisher.
Christopher Caesar of CCAP said, “The high demand in this extension round is a testimony of Linxfour’s attractive business model. We are looking forward to the partnership with the Linxfour team and our new co-investors. With this strong investor base Linxfour is well equipped to capitalize on the structural trend towards Equipment-as-a-Service.”
The legal advisor of Linxfour was Bitterl König Rechtsanwälte OG.
About Linxfour
Linxfour is a European leasing company, based in Austria, providing Pay-per-Use financing solutions to manufacturing companies. Using proprietary IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technology and AI-driven risk management, we are unique in underwriting true utilisation risk. Operating across different countries and industries, we are committed to helping businesses finance equipment with our unparalleled solution.
For more information about Linxfour, please visit www.linxfour.com or get in touch (details below).
About CCAP
CCAP is a German investment and advisory firm founded by Christopher Caesar and Sebastian Hess. The firm focuses on technology, software, data and tech enabled industries where it leverages its experience and operating partners to help companies execute their strategic initiatives. CCAP partners with companies and management teams to provide bespoke capital and advisory value add solutions to accelerate growth. For more information about CCAP, please visit www.ccap.co
About Klaus Kleinfeld
Klaus Kleinfeld served among others as President of Siemens US and CEO of Siemens AG, led the former Alcoa as President and CEO successfully through one of the deepest economic crises since WWII and subsequently built a reputation as founder and investor and enabler for companies in the tech, financial and pharmaceutical sector.
About Patrick Aisher/Kinled Holding
Kinled Holding is a privately held investment company that has a portfolio of 125 companies, including 25 FinTech businesses, and is a partner in four dedicated technology investment companies based in London, Vienna, Gibraltar and Zurich, with combined Assets under Management of $250M. The company has exited 20 investments via IPO. For more information, please visit www.kinled.com.
