Inside a new royalties-based tech fund from a former BlackRock exec
Summary
Althera42, launched by former BlackRock executive Caspar Macqueen and private-markets investor Christian Czernich, is a new royalties-based fund targeting Europe’s tech infrastructure companies. The firm plans to raise $300m to provide non-dilutive working capital to late-stage private companies building digital infrastructure — think data centres, cloud services and related software — by swapping upfront capital for a fixed share of future revenues rather than taking equity.
Deals are structured as revenue royalties over several years (not loans), aiming to blend the upside of venture capital with the steady cash flows of private debt. The fund intends to do 15–20 deals, focus on companies with roughly €10m–€100m in recurring or licensing revenue, and charge a 2% management fee plus a 20% performance fee, with distributions sent to investors quarterly.
Key Points
- Althera42 offers upfront capital in exchange for a fixed percentage of future revenues rather than equity or traditional debt.
- Target fund size: $300m; planned deployment across 15–20 deals, mainly in Europe and the UK with potential North American deals.
- Target companies: late-stage, €10–€100m revenue, recurring/licensing models, defensible IP, low churn and diversified customers.
- Focus on digital infrastructure sectors such as data centres and cloud services to support Europe’s tech stack.
- Fee structure: 2% management fee and 20% performance fee; investor returns distributed quarterly.
- Founders: Caspar Macqueen (ex-BlackRock alternatives lead for EMEA on Aladdin) and Christian Czernich (founder of Round2 Capital).
- The approach adapts royalty investing (seen in music and pharma) but centres deals on future revenues rather than IP rights.
Why should I read this?
Quick and informal: if you’re interested in how tech gets financed without founders giving up equity, this is a neat play. It’s non-dilutive, leans on predictable revenues, and could reshuffle who funds Europe’s digital backbone. Worth a skim if you care about funding models, founders’ dilution, or new asset classes.
Context and relevance
The move fits two big trends: investors hunting yield outside traditional credit, and startups avoiding sky-high equity valuations. Private credit has ballooned, and royalty deals in music and healthcare have shown investor appetite for revenue-linked returns. By applying that model to tech infrastructure, Althera42 aims to offer a middle path between equity and debt, which could appeal to founders wanting capital without dilution and to investors seeking predictable cashflows across Europe’s growing digital-infrastructure market.