Safeguard’s charter is to build value in early- and growth-stage businesses
by providing capital as well as strategic, operational and management resources.
Safeguard participates in early- and growth-stage financings. Our vision is
to be the preferred capital source for entrepreneurs and management teams in
well-defined industry sectors. Throughout this document, we use the term “partner
company” to generally refer to those companies in which we have an equity
interest and in which we are actively involved, influencing development through
board representation and management support, in addition to the influence we
exert through our equity ownership. From time to time, in addition to these
partner companies, we also hold relatively small equity interests in other enterprises
where we do not exert significant influence and do not participate in management
activities. In some cases, these interests relate to former partner companies
and in some cases they relate to entities which may later become partner companies.
Healthcare — companies focused principally on medical technology (“MedTech”),
including diagnostics and devices; and healthcare technology (“HealthTech”).
Within these areas, Safeguard targets companies that have lesser regulatory
risk and have achieved or are near commercialization; and
Technology — companies focused principally on digital media; financial
technology (“FinTech”); and enterprise software including mobile
technology, cloud, “Internet of Things” and big data. Within these
areas, Safeguard targets companies that have transaction-enabling applications
with a recurring revenue stream.
Deploy capital in companies within our strategic focus;
Build value in partner companies by developing strong management teams, growing
the companies organically and through acquisitions, and positioning the companies
for liquidity at premium valuations;
Realize the value of partner companies through selective, well-timed exits
to maximize risk-adjusted value; and
Provide the tools needed for investors to fully recognize the shareholder value
that has been created by our efforts.
To meet our strategic objectives during 2016, Safeguard will continue to focus
on:
Finding opportunities to deploy our capital in additional partner companies
within our target sectors;
Helping partner companies achieve additional market penetration, revenue growth,
cash flow improvement and growth in long-term value; and
Realizing value in our partner companies if and when we believe doing so will
maximize value for our shareholders.
Founded in 1953, Safeguard has a distinguished track record of building market
leaders by providing capital and operational support to entrepreneurs across
an evolving and innovative spectrum of industries. Today, Safeguard principally
targets healthcare companies focusing on medical technology and healthcare technology;
and technology companies focusing on financial technology, digital media, and
enterprise software including mobile technology, cloud, “Internet of Things”
and big data.
As a visionary for the development of early- and growth-stage healthcare and
technology companies, Safeguard is a proven partner for entrepreneurs looking
to accelerate growth and build long-term value in their businesses. Leveraging
Safeguard’s history of building market leaders, along with our team’s
collective operational expertise and successful entrepreneurial endeavors, Safeguard
has built a powerful — and actionable — platform of resources to
support our partner companies with the strategies and relationships that are
most vital for success. We provide value that extends beyond capital and work
as a team to foster growth.
Safeguard’s go-to-market strategy, marketing and sourcing activities
within our target sectors (Healthcare and Technology) are designed to generate
a large volume of high-quality opportunities to acquire significant shareholder
positions in partner companies. Our principal focus is to acquire positions
in early- and growth-stage companies with attractive growth prospects in the
healthcare and technology sectors. Generally, we prefer to deploy capital into
companies:
operating in large and/or growing markets;
with barriers to entry by competitors, such as proprietary technology and intellectual
property, or other competitive advantages;
with initial capital requirements between $5 million and $15 million, and follow-on
financing needs of between $5 million and $10 million, with the total anticipated
deployment of up to $25 million from Safeguard; and
with a compelling growth strategy.
Our sourcing efforts are targeted primarily in the eastern United States. However,
in-bound deal leads generate opportunities throughout the United States, and
we do not limit our sourcing to a particular geographic area within the United
States. Leads come from a variety of sources, including investment bankers,
syndication partners, existing partner companies and advisory board members.
In Healthcare, we currently target companies principally in MedTech and HealthTech
that have lesser regulatory risk and have achieved or are near commercialization.
In Technology, we currently target companies principally in digital media, FinTech,
and enterprise software that have transaction-enabling applications with a recurring
revenue stream.
We believe there are many opportunities within these business models and vertical
markets, and our sourcing activities are focused on finding candidate companies
and evaluating how well they align with our criteria. However, we recognize
we may have difficulty identifying candidate companies and completing transactions
on terms we believe appropriate. As a result, we cannot be certain how frequently
we will enter into transactions with new or existing partner companies.
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