Venture/Growth Capital

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• Dutch VC firm Forbion expands into Germany, funds Promedior in $12m round 17 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Dutch life sciences investor Forbion Capital Partners is rolling out operations at a new office in Munich and has appointed a partner, Dr Holger Reithinger, to head the team. The company has also led a $12m Series C funding round for biotech company Promedior Inc.

• Elevar raises second poverty-focused fund 16 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Emerging markets investor Elevar has raised a $70m fund to invest in growth companies, expanding the reach of microfinance and other services to the four billion people at the base of the economic pyramid in countries like India, Mexico, the Philippines and Peru.

• Belgian PE firm Gimv closes fund on €609m 16 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Listed private equity firm Gimv has closed its Gimv-XL fund on €609m, making it “the largest initiative of its kind in Belgium”.

• Genetix raises $35m to deliver gene therapy 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Genetix Pharmaceuticals has completed a $35m series B financing, with new investors Third Rock Ventures and Genzyme Ventures joining TVM Capital, Forbion and Easton Capital.

• Nine Rivers Capital takes $7m stake in Indian agribusiness 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. India-focused private equity firm Nine Rivers Capital has taken a $7m stake in Global AgriSystem Private (GAPL), a New Delhi agribusiness supply chain specialist. The promoters of GAPL also participated in the funding round to strengthen the company’s capital base.

• DFJ Esprit hires senior adviser for Nordic investments 12 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. European venture capital firm DFJ Esprit has hired Mikko Suonenlahti, who joins the team as a senior adviser, focusing on investments in the B2B and B2C software, medtech, bio-IT and energy efficiency sectors in the Nordic region.

• Local activity discovery engine LivingSocial raises $25m 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. LivingSocial, a social commerce company behind LivingSocial Deals and  Facebook applications Visual Bookshelf and Pick Your Five, has completed a $25m series B round of venture funding led by US Venture Partners, with Grotech Ventures and Steve Case's Revolution participating.

• Battery Ventures hits target with $750m 11 Mar 2010. Source: Assets. Tech-focused venture capita firm Battery Ventures has closed its ninth fund, BV IX, on its $750m target. This brings total committed capital in Battery’s nine funds to nearly $4bn.

• Long-term European private equity performance remains robust 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Short-term horizons for private equity and venture capital performance have registered a slight improvement, while long-term returns enjoyed by investors remain robust, according to data for 2009 compiled by Thomson Reuters in association with EVCA.

• Creandum hires ex-Balderton Capital general partner 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Nordic venture and growth capital firm Creandum has brought Johan Brenner, previously a general partner at Balderton Capital, into the fold as a venture partner.

• European PE investment in 2009 down 71 per cent on boom of 2007 11 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Last year was a period of internal diligence and stewardship for the European private equity and venture capital industry, as investors concentrated on supporting existing portfolio of companies against a backdrop of recession and macro-economic uncertainty.

• Cartilage treatment business Carticept gets $20m 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Carticept Medical Inc, a developer of products for the treatment of cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis, has completed a $20m series B financing round. New investor SonoSite Inc, a medtech company in the ultrasound space, joined return venture capital investors Domain Associates and New Enterprise Associates.

• New Enterprise Associates adds Ron Bernal as venture partner 10 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the technology-focused venture capital firm which raised $2.5bn earlier this year, has appointed industry veteran Ron Bernal as a venture partner. In this new role, Bernal, a former entrepreneur-in-residence with NEA, will work with the firm’s enterprise infrastructure and services, electronics and energy technology teams.

• SiBEAM raises $36.5m to take wireless chipset mainstream 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. California-based semiconductor company SiBEAM Inc has closed $36.5m in series D funding led by Foundation Capital. The financing will be used to push its 60 GHz wireless chipsets into the mainstream marketplace while funding future projects and further expansion.

• Biopharma company Genticel receives €13.1m to treat cervical cancer 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. French biopharmaceutical company Genticel, formerly known as BT Pharma, has secured €13.1m in funding to develop its immunotherapeutic treatments for cancers caused by the human pipillomavirus (HPV). Investors included IRDI, Amundi Private Equity Funds and InnoBio fund (CDC enterprises), in the round led by AGF Private Equity.

• Israeli venture firm launches six new yuan funds 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Israeli venture capital firm Infinity has launched six new yuan-denominated funds through its China-Israel Infinity-I China unit in the latest example of the country's allure.

• Emerging markets private equity slows in line with global slump 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Fundraising for emerging markets-dedicated private equity funds slowed in 2009, though investment activity was comparatively strong. Emerging markets captured nine per cent of global private equity fundraising and 26 per cent of global private equity investment, with deal activity by transaction volume down by only 11 per cent, according to new research from the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.

• UK state regulator slams performance of government’s SME VC initiative 09 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. The performance of a flagship scheme by the UK government to make venture investments in small businesses has been slammed by a watchdog. According to the UK Public Accounts Committee, the government’s efforts to stimulate small business development through venture capital investment have performed below expectations, suffering from high management costs and unclear goals.

• DoubleVerify raises $10m to keep eye on online ads 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. New York City-based online advertising verifier DoubleVerify has closed $10m in series B financing in a round led by Institutional Venture Partners. The financing will be used to fund company expansion in response to increasing demand.

• Aureos Capital invests $10m in Nigerian leasing company 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Emerging markets private equity specialist Aureos Capital has invested $10m in Nigerian leasing company C&I Leasing, taking the firm’s total investment in the African country to $40m.

• Israeli venture capital fundraising down 72 per cent in 2009 08 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. The downturn hit Israel’s venture capital market hard in 2009, with domestic funds only managing to muster $229m, a sharp drop of 72 per cent from the $803m raised in 2008.

• Open Sky Technologies Fund lands first close 05 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. Germany’s Triangle Venture Capital Group and the European Space Agency (ESA), a body that sets out to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and promote investment, have held the first close of their €100m-targeting joint fund.

• TransMedics raises $36m for organ transplant system 05 Mar 2010. Source: AltAssets. TransMedics Inc, a medical device company focusing on delivering a solution for organ transplantation, has closed a $36m financing round led by Foundation Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).