Genii Capital (simply known as Genii and stylized as GƎИII) is an international

financial advisory Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) ...

and investment firm, which specialises in

brand management In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is pe ...

, technology, motorsport and a range of

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

activities. It was created in 2008, by two Luxembourger investors, Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux and has a particular focus on emerging markets, including the

BRIC BRIC is a grouping acronym referring to the developing countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, which are identified as rising economic powers. It is typically rendered as "the BRIC," "the BRIC countries," "the BRIC economies," or alte ...

(Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations. Genii Capital focuses on a wide range of investment vehicles and also provides advisory services on topics ranging from the preparation of an

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

, the joint development of businesses,

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

and capital markets. As a result of a global restructuring initiative in 2011, Genii Capital is now located in the finance division of the Genii Group, a global enterprise overseeing the business activities of Lux and Lopez.

Genii's investment interests

Formula One

On 16 December 2009 it was announced that Genii were to purchase a large stake in the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

F1 Team. Genii beat

Prodrive Prodrive is a British motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Aston Martin, Bahrain Raid Xtreme and Team X44. Its advanced technolo ...

head David Richards to the deal. Genii was likely to merge the Renault Driver Development programme with its own Gravity Sport Management company, which manages drivers such as

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese people in the Netherlands, Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 befo ...

, who tested for the Renault team in 2009, as well as

Christian Vietoris Christian Vietoris (; ; born 1 April 1989) is a German racing driver. He competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, most recently for HWA Team. Vietoris has also been a part of the revitalized Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, together with Robert Wi ...

. On 8 December 2010, Renault made public it would sell its remaining 25% share in the Enstone-based team, Renault F1 team, to Genii Capital, from that moment the sole shareholder. Group Lotus immediately became a partner of the team, renamed Lotus Renault GP. It was projected that the carmaker company would purchase a significant share of it. The team was known as the

Lotus F1 Team Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. ...

from 2012 until 2015, when the team was sold back to

after the team experienced funding issues.

Other

On 26 January 2009 PHC Acquisitions LLC, affiliate of Genii Capital, become a

stalking horse bidder A stalking horse offer, agreement, or bid is a bid for a bankrupt firm or its assets that is arranged in advance of an auction to act as an effective reserve bid. The intent is to maximize the value of its assets or avoid low bids, as part of (or be ...

of Polaroid Holding Company. The agreement included the purchase of Polaroid's assets as intellectual rights, name and brand. On 7 January 2010 it was announced that Genii would, "hand in a cash offer" for Swedish carmaker Saab Automobile, together with

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

commercial boss Bernard Ecclestone. According to Genii spokesperson Lars Carlstroem, "It is a true opportunity and we’re surprised that more investors haven’t identified this opportunity... eniiloves brands and Saab is a strong brand on the same level as Porsche and BMW.” The proposition was finally dismissed. In December 2011, it was announced that Genii Capital led in $35 million of financing for Zink Imaging, a printing technology company, through the Genii Business Exchange.

Expansion strategy

On 29 July 2011, Genii Capital, which already had interests in Europe, Asia and North America, disembarked in Brazil through a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

with WWI Group. This is part of the Genii's current expansion strategy in

countries. In April 2012, Genii Capital announced the launch of an office in Geneva as part of its expansion strategy.

Genii Business Exchange

Genii Business Exchange is an adjunct to Genii Capital. The Genii Business Exchange is a business platform providing a forum for a global network of high-net-worth individuals,

opinion leaders Opinion leadership is leadership by an active media user who interprets the meaning of media messages or content for lower-end media users. Typically opinion leaders are held in high esteem by those who accept their opinions. Opinion leadership com ...

, political leaders and those involved with

. It was founded by Lux and Lopez in 2010, and is hosted in many of the world's financial centres, but with a particular focus on emerging economies including

and MENA countries. Since the acquisition of the

Enstone Enstone is a village and civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of Cha ...

-based

team from Renault (subsequently renamed from "Renault F1" to "Lotus Renault GP") by Genii Capital three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jackie Stewart OBE has worked with the Genii Business Exchange. Former President of BAE Systems, Sir Charles Masefield joined The Genii Group as a strategic advisor in June 2012.

References

External links

Genii Business Exchange
A division of Genii Capital created to transform Formula One exposure into business opportunities.
Lotus F1 Team
The Formula One team owned by Genii. {{Lotus F1 Investment companies of Luxembourg