Investors renew push for change at Afterpay VC fund following CEO exit
After four and a half years, the CEO of ASX-listed VC fund Touch Ventures is swapping venture investing for private equity.
Institutional investors in the listed venture capital fund set up by Afterpay have urged major shareholder Gannet Capital to take fresh steps to unlock value following the departure of the vehicle's CEO.
Hein Vogel, CEO of ASX-listed Touch Ventures since 2019, will leave the business at the end the week after he and the board "reached a consensus on his departure" following a multi-year market beating for the fund.
The Touch share price is down to less than 8 cents, well down from when it traded at 47 cents a share following its October 2021 listing. The fund privately values its portfolio of companies at $50.9 million, having effectively written off more than half of its initial investment.
Vogel is set to join Hg Capital, a global private equity firm targeting tech buyouts. The banker confirmed his career move to Capital Brief but did not answer subsequent questions or phone calls.
