Florian Pauthner (pictured), chief financial officer of Germany-based media group ProSiebenSat.1’s corporate venturing unit, SevenVentures, has been promoted to chief executive.
The move follows the departure of Sascha van Holt earlier this month to set up investment firm Crosslantic Capital. Pauthner had been CFO of SevenVentures since the start of 2015 while Van Holt was CEO of SevenVentures from its formation in April 2011.
ProSiebenSat.1 divested a significant part of its media-for-equity portfolio to US-based private equity firm Lexington Partners last month for a mid-eight digit euro figure (€50m = $57m).
The deal will include minority stakes in up to 16 companies that are held by ProSiebenSat.1 subsidiaries including SevenVentures, and the assets will be transferred to the newly formed Crosslantic Capital.
SevenVentures will retain a 24.5% share of Crosslantic Capital and the rest will be held by Lexington Partners, as Global Corporate Venturing reported last month.
The moves came shortly after Kasper Sage, a senior investment manager at ProSiebenSat.1 Media, left to become a principal at automotive manufacturer BMW’s corporate venturing unit, BMW i Ventures.