DFJ Esprit, a venture capital firm and member of the global Draper Fisher Jurvetson network, has formed two new funds totalling USD495m.
The funds are DFJ Esprit III, a venture capital fund focused on Europe, and Encore Ventures I, a secondary vehicle which has agreed to acquire 3i’s European venture portfolio.
DFJ Esprit III is a primary venture capital fund with a target of EUR150m (USD215m) and will continue DFJ Esprit’s track record of investing in early and later stage technology companies across Europe. A first close has been held at EUR70m (USD100m) with commitments from the European Investment Fund, Finnish Industry Investors, Partners Group, JP Morgan, LGT Group and Harbourvest.
The new secondary division of DFJ Esprit, Encore Ventures, has closed its first fund, Encore I, a GBP170m (USD280m) maximum fund backed by secondary investors Coller Capital and Harbourvest, which has agreed to acquire 3i’s European venture portfolio.
Simon Cook, chief executive of DFJ Esprit, says: ‘We are delighted to be able to announce two new funds in the current economic climate with the backing of leading LPs. DFJ Esprit III will continue to support the best entrepreneurs from all over the UK and Europe, just as our partner DFJ network funds do in Silicon Valley, China, India, Israel and around the world. In addition, we are excited to be the first mainstream venture firm to establish a dedicated secondary team where the opportunities to acquire stakes in fast growing businesses are significant.’
