This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, a weekly guide to wealthy investors and consumers. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox. Last month, Family Office doubled at least 48 direct investments from the previous month, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by private wealth intelligence platform Fintrx. Two of the most active family office investors, Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective and Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures, joined Megarounds last month. Emerson Collective participated in a $700 million funding for X-Energy, an Amazon-backed nuclear reactor startup. Meanwhile, Horizons Ventures is jointly showing a $112 million round for Australian health technology Harrison. Soros Capital, a family office run by Robert, son of billionaire George Soros, took part in the $357 million Series D round for Acon Therapeutics. Leading by Roger Permutter, former research director at Merck, the drug discovery company is testing several drug candidates for a wide range of cancer types, including melanoma and prostate cancer. In one of several acquisitions by Family Office, Pretzker Private Capital purchased a majority stake in Americhen, a manufacturer specializing in color additives in plastics. Financial conditions have not been disclosed. PPC was founded by private equity investors and Hyatt Hotel heir Tony Pritzker, and previously acquired at least two plastic companies, and this month it acquired another industrial company, Bachman. Here are seven notable deals this month by the family office with at least $1.5 billion in assets: Some of the month’s most innovative investments were signed by the old European family behind the famous brand. Famille C, the family office of Clarinth’s heirs, has invested in French deep tech startup Spore.bio. First Kind, an investment company owned by the Peugeot Automaker family, also participated in the $23 million Series C round. Kirkbi, the Danish family’s Danish family’s office behind the LEGO Toys, supported Tidal Vision, a biotechnology based in Bellingham, Washington. Tide vision transforms crab and shrimp shells into a non-toxic chemical called chitosan and can be used for many purposes, such as water purification and flame retardant. Entrepreneur Mamoun Benkirane told CNBC that the family’s office is more willing to explore new ideas than traditional venture capital companies. In February, his Luxembourg-based e-commerce startup Market Reap collected a $8 million Series A round led by Smedvig Ventures, a fourth-generation family office for heirs of Norwegian offshore oil rig company. Another family office took part in the round: Motier Ventures is owned by the Houzé family, behind the French department store chain Galeries Lafayette. According to Benkirane, investors focused on subscription revenue are turned off by MarketLeap’s hybrid revenue model, charging brands monthly fees and reducing profits to help expand online sales. “As soon as they start pitching something different than what they normally hear, they’ll close,” Benkiran said of the Tier-on VC company. “What we liked about Smedvig is that they brought their own perspective and tried to think from our perspective rather than seeing if we were right for it.” Using a family office as a major investor rather than a traditional VC means sacrificeing name recognition. Benkirane said he thinks it is worth it, especially since family offices like Smedvig Ventures can invest in a small number of startups a year and get more attention on portfolio companies. “To be honest, my general advice is to stop worrying about investors’ names. It’s all noise,” he said. “If things don’t go well, I want someone to spend time with you, rather than saying, ‘OK, I’m going to amortize this company and focus on the next big company’. ”
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This version of the article first appeared on CNBC’s Inside Wealth Newsletter. This is Robert Frank, a weekly guide to wealthy investors and consumers. Sign up to receive future editions directly in your inbox.
Last month, Family Office doubled at least 48 direct investments from the previous month, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by private wealth intelligence platform Fintrx.
