The fundraising completes a busy week for European venture capital investors
Northzone, the venture capital business specialising in European technology investments, has closed its largest fund to date at $500m.
The fund will invest the money in early-stage tech firms in both Europe and the US east coast, adding to a portfolio that includes the likes of Spotify, the music-streaming service, and the payments business Klarna.
The fund will seek investments in any industry constrained by dated technology, including financial services, healthcare, education, mobility and construction. It has already made three investments.
Northzone, founded in 1996, has invested in more than 150 start-ups to date. Its latest fund, which is its ninth, brings the total amount of money raised by the company to €1.5bn.
The news comes a week after rival venture investment firm Balderton Capital secured $400m from investors. Both firms flagged the appeal of the European tech sector to global investors.
The two companies also share an interest in the fintech sector. As well as Klarna, Northzone holds investments in the fintech lenders Zopa and MarketFinance, the open-banking business TrueLayer and iZettle, the payments company.
“It’s one of the themes that we spend a lot of time on,” said Paul Murphy, general partner at Northzone, in an interview with Financial News.
Both Northzone and Balderton are invested in Zopa, the peer-to-peer lender that is involved in a race to raise more than £100m to meet a critical December 3 deadline linked to the launch of its new bank. The firm is working with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to secure the cash, as reported by Financial News on November 11.
Murphy said Northzone is excited by Zopa’s prospects, and that the ecosystem of later-stage growth investors in Europe remains vibrant.
He added: “I think there’s a lot of factors at play with a lot of different companies… Growth fund to growth fund are not apples to apples in terms of what they’re looking for.”
Northzone did not disclose which companies invested in its latest fund, but Murphy said it was a mix of pension funds, fund-of-funds in Europe, larger family offices in Europe and Asia and US endowment funds.
Source: Financial News
Can’t stop reading? Read more
Blackstone and BlackRock weigh AI partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Humain amid Vision 2030 push
Blackstone and BlackRock weigh AI partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Humain amid Vision 2030 push Saudi Arabia’s artificial intelligence company Humain is in early talks with Blackstone and BlackRock over a potential multibillion-dollar partnership, according to sources...
Irish private equity firm Erisbeg closes €175m fund targeting SME growth
Irish private equity firm Erisbeg closes €175m fund targeting SME growth Dublin-based private equity firm Erisbeg has raised €175m for its second fund dedicated to Irish SMEs, securing commitments from both domestic and international investors. The raise, which...
TPG and Sanabil drive $157m raise for Hala, valuing fintech at $900m
TPG and Sanabil drive $157m raise for Hala, valuing fintech at $900m TPG and Sanabil, part of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, have led a $157m funding round for Saudi fintech Hala, valuing the company at roughly $900m, according to Bloomberg. The round included...