NVP closes $275m tech spin-outs fund

US and UK-based venture capital firm New Venture Partners (NVP) has held a first and final close on its fourth vehicle, NV Partners IV, with $275 million (€215 million) of commitments.
 
Harry Berry, partner in the Ipswich, UK office of NVP told PEO that the firm began marketing fund IV a year ago with an original target of $200 million.
 
NVP was established in 2001 through London-based secondary specialist Coller Capital’s $100 million management buyout of Lucent’s New Ventures Group incubator. In 2003, NVP and Coller Capital partnered to acquire British Telecom’s in-house venture capital unit Brightstar, also for $100 million.
 
NVP collaborates with global technology corporations to commercialise innovations through spin-out ventures. Last year, NVP closed a partnership deal with Philips Research to identify and create spin-off businesses based on technology from Philips Electronics Nederland’s network of research labs. To date, NVP has launched over 35 spin-outs.
 
Berry, who co-founded Brightstar in 2000, said that NV Partners IV is the firm’s first fund to attract commitments from third party investors. “Coller Capital was our main investor in our previous funds, so this is the first time we have raised a seed fund in our own rights,” he said.
 
Allocations to the vehicle came from institutional investors in the US and Europe, including pension funds, funds of funds, endowments, financial services institutions and family offices.
 
Berry said that NV Partners IV would make around 25 investments in spin-outs across the US and Europe over a five-year period.
 
NVP has four investment professionals operating out of its UK office, according to Berry. NVP’s US team, based in New Jersey, comprises 10 investment professionals, headed by managing partner Stephen Socolof.