Busy B-B

Swedish venture capitalist B-Business Partners has been busy of late, completing two investments.

It provided part of a SEK50m (E5.5m) financing round in Ehand, a mobile software company. Other investors included Telenor Venture, the investment arm of the Norwegian telecom, and EDB, an IT consultancy.

B-Business also took part in the E16.6m financing of iOra, a software company. Cazenove Private Equity was the other investor.

B-Business claims to be the “new model of venture capital”. Its investors are 11 big Swedish corporates, including ABB, a hi-tech firm; Investor AB, an IT consultancy; and AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company.

Each of these companies has a special area of competence. “The difference is that these companies do not just give money, they give expertise,” said a spokesman for B-Business.

B-Business will only invest if the company it is looking at has a business match to B-Business’s investor companies. “There has to be a fit with at least one of the investor companies,” said the spokesman.

Once the investment has taken place, the idea is that B-B’s investors help portfolio companies grow. “The investor companies have dedicated people to look after B-Business portfolio companies,” said the spokesman.

B-Business Partners was set up last summer. It has E1bn of capital at its disposal and has so far made nine investments.