email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

PRODUCTION / FUNDING Finland

IPR.VC launches a €42 million fund specialised in European film, TV and web content

by 

- Four years after it was founded, the Finnish company is entering its second phase of expansion

IPR.VC launches a €42 million fund specialised in European film, TV and web content

Helsinki-based venture capital company IPR.VC has announced the creation of a €42 million fund specialised in European film, TV and web content. With this move, the firm is planning to raise about €60-70 million by the end of next year. IPR.VC, the first Nordic venture capital investment firm dedicated to media content, was founded four years ago by entrepreneurs Timo Argillander, Tanu-Matti Tuominen and Jarkko Virtanen, and invested €20 million in 16 content projects or companies, and in the development of 14 projects. Some of their backed productions include Miikko Oikkonen’s crime series Bordertown, and features such as Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dome Karukoski
film profile
]
and Klaus Härö’s One Last Deal [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

During this second phase of expansion, the funds for which have been raised through a group of institutional, private and public investors, the firm will radically change its business approach. In detail, the outfit’s investment strategy will move from a Finnish-centric model to a more European one, and will mostly focus on high-end TV dramas and films, and to a lesser extent, on interactive content. Furthermore, instead of targeting single projects, IPR.VC will establish selected partnerships with European-based global distributors, helping them secure the licensing for a slate of premium projects from an early stage.

Speaking about IPR.VC’s new strategy, Argillander said: “We are extremely pleased to announce our new fund of €42 million, set to reach €60-70 million within a year. With our unique venture capital fund, which combines the creative and financial worlds, we have earned the trust of our investors, and succeeded in explaining to them why content is vital and a growing asset. TV drama in particular is expanding fast. Traditional broadcasters have limited coin, so this gives us a privileged spot on the market as a major European VC company specialised in premium content. As high-risk, high-return investors, we simply need to attract the best projects, which means being more aggressive on the international stage. This is why, in the future, we will enter into partnerships with selective distribution companies that we feel can grow, to allow them to finance content slates much faster.”

Argillander added that the first strategic partnership will be announced by the end of the year and that the firm is still open to investing in Nordic production companies. The new workload brought by the upcoming international investments will be handled by one or two new hires that will join the current six in-house executives. Finally, additional effort will be put into strengthening the company’s ESG criteria in order to address environmental issues, social responsibility and gender equality.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy