Germany’s SHS launches €70m venture fund

SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement, a German venture capital firm, has launched a new fund with a target of €70 million ($90 million).
 
Bernhard Schirmers, chief executive and partner at SHS, said that SHS Fonds III is expected to hold a first close before the end of the year of approximately €40 million. A hard cap of €70 million has been targeted for Summer 2007.
 

Schirmers: hard cap of €70 million

Schirmers said that Fonds III will follow a similar strategy to Fonds II, which raised €50 million and is fully invested in 22 companies, of which seven have been exited to trade buyers.
 
Fonds III will invest in early-stage companies in the healthcare and life sciences sectors in the German-speaking region, with a particular focus on medical technology and diagnostics. The fund will typically invest between €3 million and €5 million.
 
Shirmers said the firm had not used a single placement agent across the fund: “ But we are using various placement agents regarding target segments. In terms of investors, we’re looking to get allocations from European pension funds and family offices.”
 
Established in 1993, SHS has five investment professionals operating out of an office in Tuebingen. Shirmers said that the firm plans to add another investment professional in the next year.