Revenue sharing instead of company shares: New investment model for wealthy people

You can get involved from one million euros. Tauros has two institutional investors, Erste Bank and Wiener Städtische, and foundations, so-called family offices or wealthy private individuals may also like the relatively new business idea.

Investments are made in up-and-coming, successful small and medium-sized businesses such as Spusu or Biogena. Instead of a share in the company and thus a corresponding percentage of profits, there is a share in sales based on the US model. “Revenue based financing” has been around there for a long time, as Tauros managing director Werner Edlinger explains. “With our model, we close the financing gap between equity and debt capital.”

The Tauros model offers advantages to both the companies in which investments are made and the investors. On the corporate side, family businesses or companies in particular appreciate that they do not have to take on additional shareholders before going public. This means that the companies remain self-determined instead of externally determined, says second Tauros managing director Thomas Bobek.

On the investor side, the tax deductibility of part of the investment is appreciated. As a rule, you receive a sales share of between one and four percent for the capital invested.

So far, investments have been made in Austria, Germany and Switzerland in companies with a turnover of two million euros or more. The usual term of the investment is between five and seven years.

Tauros was founded in 2018 and, with the first investment vehicle of the type described above, has made 22 investments, which together represent sales of 400 million euros and 1,500 jobs. Now the second vehicle was started.