Munich-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners has announced the closing of its latest fund, Wellington Partners IV Technology, at EUR265m, surpassing its target of EUR250m in just
Munich-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners has announced the closing of its latest fund, Wellington Partners IV Technology, at EUR265m, surpassing its target of EUR250m in just over six months, and opened a third European office in London.
‘We owe the success of the new fund to the strong support of our existing investors,’ says Wellington general partner Frank Böhnke. Investors in the new fund include Access Capital Partners, AGF Private Equity, AlpInvest Partners, European Investment Fund, Horizon21, König, the Wellcome Trust, von Braun & Schreiber and WEGA.
Wellington, which was advised by SJ Berwin, also attracted a number of notable new investors including GIC Special Investments, Pantheon Ventures and Skandia Liv Asset Management.
Wellington Partners was established in 1991 in Munich, the centre of venture capital activity for German-speaking Europe, and opened an office in Zurich in 2005. The new London office is under the management of general partners Eric Archambeau and Frank Böhnke.
Says Archambeau: ‘We invest in the best technology entrepreneurs throughout Europe and support them on their way to becoming global leaders. The new office in London will help us become even more accessible to entrepreneurs across Europe.’
The first investments for Wellington Partners IV Technology are French-based travel service provider TravelHorizon, German-based solar cell specialist Heliatek and Swiss-founded chip developer Innovative Silicon. In total, the fund plans to invest in about 25 companies throughout Europe in the fields of digital media and online services, software and electronics.
‘During the past decade, we have shown we are able to support the best European technology entrepreneurs and accompany them as they travel the road to global success,’ says Wellington founder Rolf Christof Dienst.
‘We are highly confident that WP IV Tech will enable us to benefit from the exceptional opportunity that the European market offers right now for a highly focused venture capital firm like Wellington Partners with a European approach and a global vision.’
With EUR 800m under management, Wellington Partners invests in opportunities throughout Europe that have the potential to become global leaders, mainly in the areas of information technology, media convergence and life science.
Since 1991 the firm has invested in more than 100 companies in Europe and Israel, including Actelion, SAF and Xing that are now publicly traded and privately-owned companies such as Alando (acquired by eBay) and ImmobilienScout24 (acquired by Deutsche Telekom) as well as current portfolio companies such as Astaro, Adconion, Questico and Truphone.
