A big uplift in the value of its stake in blockchain micro-payments group SatoshiPay boosted investment company Blue Star Capital PLC ’s (LON:BLU) net asset value by 38%.
The companies tried unsuccessfully to merge last year, but since then SatoshiPay has raised £1.68mln valuing it at £15mln and Blue Star’s 27.9% stake at £4.2mln.
Another of Blue Star’s investments, biometric recognition specialist Sthaler, saw its value rise six-fold over the year, with the stake now worth £300,000 based on the most recent funding round.
Net assets in the year to September 2018 increased to £5.5mln from £3.5mln, which equated to 0.29p (from 0.21p) on a per share basis.
The uplift would have been larger had Blue Star not written down its legacy investment in Disruptive Tech by £1.3mln to £300,000.
Tony Fabrizi, Blue Star’s chief executive, said: “While we were ultimately unsuccessful in our attempt to acquire the entire issued share capital of SatoshiPay, the process proved valuable and was critical in SatoshiPay raising almost £1.7m in private funding in 2019.
“The valuation achieved by SatoshiPay on these recent private raises is significantly above your company's acquisition cost and this has resulted in a strong uplift in both net assets and profits over the year. “