Robeco

Demeter Partners

Posted on by matthewlim

About: Demeter Partners, an AMF-accredited independent asset management company, manages funds investing capital in SMEs in the eco-industries sector (water, waste, polluted sites) and in the eco-energies sector (renewable energies, energy efficiency, environmentally-friendly buildings). Founded in Paris in June 2005, Demeter Partners is a pioneer in France in the Cleantechs’ field. The first FCPR Demeter fund manages assets of €105 million invested entirely in 22 companies. The FCPR Demeter 2 fund is targeting €200 million. Demeter Partners has offices in Paris, Madrid and Berlin.

www.demeter-partners.com

Key Personnel:
Olivier Dupont, Chairman of the Board
Partner: Stéphane Villecroze, Sophie Paturle, Michel Ronc, Lionel Cormier

Portfolio:
IGIP, SolFocus, Burgeap, Le Floch Group, Solaire Direct, 3S Soluciones y Sistemas Solares, TREZ, Panosol, JMB Energie, Sulfurcell, FCT (subsidiary companies Controlab and Testwell), Ambene, Eurener, Ternois, Ventilation Industrielle de Bretagne, Green Gas, IES Synergy, Aerowatt, Vergnet Groupe, Paprec Group, Methaneo, Caléa, Artesys

News: On 24 July, 2009, Demeter Partners, a Paris-based European private equity firm, announced the intermediate closing of Demeter 2 at €182M. Demeter Partners is dedicated to expansion capital operations, but to early stage operations and majority acquisitions as well, in eco-energies and eco-industries in France and other European countries. The fund was launched on November 18th 2008 with a target size of €200 million and a 1st closing at €125 million. Demeter 2 is the successor fund to Demeter, a fund of €105 million fully invested as of today. Investors in Demeter 2 include 2 sponsors (CDC Entreprises, IFP Investissements), about ten faithful investors already present in the 1st Demeter Fund (the main are Robeco, Cardif, CIC, CNP Assurances), but new investors as well: Total, Crédit Coopératif, Dahlia, European Investment Fund (EIF), GDF Suez, Pictor (a fund in which members of the Halley Family are invested) and Neotec (Spanish Fund of Fund).

On 9 July 2009, Demeter Partners carried out the 3rd investment of Demeter 2 by bringing 7 million dollars to SolFocus Inc., based in California, on the occasion of Series C funding amounting to $77.6 million. This round table was led by Apex Venture Partners, a management company based in Chicago. Follow-on participants in the round included New Enterprise Associates (NEA) who led the A and B Rounds for the company, NGEN Partners and Yellowstone Capital. New investors in the round include Demeter Partners, affiliates of Advanced Equities, and others.

demeter

Emerald Technology Ventures

Posted on by matthewlim

About: Emerald Technology Ventures is a global leader in cleantech venture capital. Founded in 2000, Emerald is a pioneer in this rapidly emerging sector and is focused on innovative technologies in energy, advanced materials and water. From offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Montreal, Canada, Emerald manages three venture capital funds and two venture capital portfolio mandates totaling over EUR 300 million (USD 440 million). Emerald manages one of the largest clean technology venture portfolios across Europe and North America and is proud to have backed companies like Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR), Pemeas (acquired by BASF), RuggedCom (TSX:RCM) and Schmack Biogas (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: SB1). As its portfolio has matured, Emerald has assisted a number of companies to IPO on various global stock markets such as NASDAQ, Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the London AIM.

www.emerald-ventures.com

Key Personnel:
Gina Domanig, Managing Partner
Luc Charron, Partner
Scott MacDonald, Partner
Markus Moor, Partner

Portfolio:
Advanced BioNutrition Corporation (ABN), Agion, AgraQuest, Angstrom Power, AquaSpy, ARXX, Catalytic Solutions, CTP Hydrogen, EWT (Emergya Wind Technologies), EnOcean, fluXXion, Identec Solutions, inge watertechnologies, Iomai (acquired by Intercell in May 2008), NxtPhase (acquired by AREVA in Jan 2009), O-Flexx, Oceanlinx, ORMECON (acquired by Enthone in Sep 2008), Pelamis Wave Power, PolyFuel, Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC), River Basin Energy, RuggedCom, Schmack Biogas, SDCmaterials, Senscient, SmartSynch, SoftSwitching Technologies, Solicore, SynapSense, Vaperma, Xunlight Corporation.

News: From Gina Domanig’s profile, “she is the Managing Partner of Emerald Technology Ventures, formerly SAM Private Equity which was spun out of SAM Sustainable Asset Management in 2007. Upon joining SAM in 2000, she founded the private equity business and established SAM Private Equity as the largest European cleantech venture capital fund and the only such fund with a transatlantic strategy.” This probably explains why Sustainable Asset Management was in the top 10 cleantech VC deals in 2006 but now Emerald Technology Ventures is in the top 10 in 2008 instead after Emerald was spun out of SAM. According to this report, “effective 31 December 2006, Robeco, a Rotterdam, Netherlands-headquartered asset management firm will become the majority shareholder in Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered asset management firm SAM Group and, as part of this transaction, the SAM Private Equity team will buy out the entire private equity business to create Emerald Technology Ventures. The team of 16 professionals in Europe and North America will all transfer to Emerald and continue to manage 26 active portfolio companies from three funds and two mandates. With the closing of SAM Private Equity II, the team will have total funds under management in excess of €250m. SAM Private Equity II will be renamed Emerald Technology Ventures II.”

In July 2009, “Greifenberg, Germany-based inge watertechnologies said it secured €5 million ($7 million) in funding. The round was led by new investor Munich-based BayTech Venture Capital, and included existing investors Taprogge Watertech, Emerald Cleantech Fund I, Sustainable Performance Group, Siemens Venture Capital, StoneFund, and Entrepreneurs Fund. Inge watertechnologies specializes in ultrafiltration membranes used in water treatment processes.” I was wondering if “Emerald Cleantech Fund I” belongs to Emerald Technology Ventures as the firm has inge watertechnologies under its portfolio. From the search, I found this website of Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association listing down Emerald’s funds, i.e. Emerald Cleantech Fund I LP, Emerald Energy Fund I LP and Emerald Cleantech Fund II LP.

In May 2009, SDCmaterials, Inc., a Tempe, Arizona-based catalyst and additives producer, announced the closing of a USD 14 million Series B Financing. The round was lead by Invus Financial Advisors with participation from existing investors Emerald Technology Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, and other private individuals. “We are pleased with our ability to attract a significant new investor, Invus, while maintaining support from our Series A lead investor, Emerald Technology Ventures, during this period of global economic difficulties,” said Maximilian Biberger, CEO of SDCmaterials.

In October 2008, Oceanlinx, a leading renewable energy company, based in Australia, with a unique and commercially efficient system for extracting energy from ocean waves, announced it has closed an additional funding round of AUD 16 million from an investor syndicate comprising the New Energy Fund, Espírito Santo Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures. Both New Energy Fund and Espirito Santo Ventures are Portuguese and further research shows that New Energy Fund is from Fomentinvest, not to be confused with the New York-based New Energy Fund.

emerald

Chrysalix Energy

Posted on by matthewlim

About: Chrysalix Energy invests in and supports compelling technologies and entrepreneurial management teams that address the changing demands of the global energy industry. Founded in 2001, we actively work with our clients and support them with deep industry and technical knowledge, management and board assistance, organized networking with industrial and financial partners, management of intellectual property, and direct access to capital.

Investors in the Chrysalix Energy Partnerships include: Ballard Power Systems, BASF Venture Capital, BOC, Citigroup, Consensus Business Group, Delta Lloyd, Essent, Fortum, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Lexington Partners, Mitsubishi Corporation, Pacific Corporate Group, Robeco, Shell Hydrogen, Teachers’ Private Capital, and Total Energy Ventures. Chrysalix Energy is based in Vancouver.

www.chrysalix.com

Key Personnel:
Michael J. Brown, Executive Director
Wal Van Lierop, President & CEO
Mike Walkinshaw, Managing Director
Michael Sherman, Managing Director
Jim Fletcher, Managing Director
Richard MacKellar, Managing Director
Brian Wawro, VP, Investments
Charles Haythornthwaite, VP, Investments

Portfolio:
Akermin, Angstrom Power, Ardica Technologies , Brammo, BridgeLux, Cyrium Technologies, Day4 Energy, EnerWorks, Epyon, ExRo, Fat Spaniel Technologies, General Fusion, H2Gen, H2Scan, HydroPoint Data Systems, Light-Based Technologies, Lilliputian Systems, Purfresh, Polyfuel, ReliOn.

News: In December 2007, Chrysalix announced a new partnership with Robeco, a division of Rabobank, to invest in Europe’s fast-growing cluster of clean energy and climate mitigation technologies. The partnership, Sustainable Energy Technology Venture Partners (SET VP), manages a €50 million fund in startup capital.

In the past few years Chrysalix has consistently ranked among the top-5 most active clean energy venture capital funds in the world. Chrysalix has very strong deal flow: it reviews > 500 clean energy deals annually, seeing virtually every deal in the space. Combined, the team has >70 years of experience in investing in energy and venturing, and one of the most attractive track records in this still young, but very exciting clean energy industry. New Energy Finance also quotes Chrysalix among top 10 Cleantech Investors in 2007.

chrysalix

Sustainable Asset Management (SAM)

Posted on by matthewlim

About: Zurich-based SAM is an investment group focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing. The firm’s offering comprises asset management, indexes and private equity. Its asset management capabilities include a range of single-theme, multi-theme and core sustainability investment strategies catering to institutional asset owners and financial intermediaries in Europe, the United States, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Through its index activities, SAM has partnered with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Limited for the publication and licensing of the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) as well as customized sustainability benchmarks. Furthermore, SAM is the center of expertise for cleantech private equity within Robeco. Based on its Corporate Sustainability Assessment, SAM has compiled one of the world’s largest sustainability databases and analyzes over 1,000 listed companies annually. SAM’s proprietary research and sustainability data are fully integrated into their offering.

www.sam-group.com

Key Personnel:
Sander van Eijkern, CEO
(founder and ex-CEO Reto Ringger left the company in February 2009)

Portfolio:
SAM offers: the SAM Sustainable Leaders Fund, the SAM Smart Materials Fund, the SAM Sustainable Water Fund, the SAM Smart Energy Fund, the SAM Sustainable European Equity Fund and the SAM Sustainable Global Equity Fund. SAM’s Sustainable Performance Group invests both in selected sustainability leaders and in attractive small and mid-caps. A sample prospectus by Robeco on SAM Sustainable Climate Fund and SAM Water Fund.

Facts and Figures:
Founded: 1995
Assets under management/advice (31.12.2008): EUR 7.4 billion
Offering: Asset Management (Core & Themes), Indexes (Core & Themes), Private Equity (Clean Tech)
Number of employees: ~100
Memberships: PRI, Principles for Responsible Investment (signatory), Eurosif, European Social Investment Forum (member)
Carbon neutral since 2001: First carbon neutral company in Switzerland

News: SAM and Gatehouse Bank globally introduce first Shariah-compliant, water-focused investment strategy in 2009.

About Robeco Investment Management: Robeco Investment Management, Inc. is the U.S. asset management arm of global fund manager Robeco Group (which is part of Rabobank Group), headquartered in the Netherlands, with assets under management exceeding $200 billion, globally (as of June 30, 2007). The Robeco Investment Management platform is comprised of three divisions: Robeco Boston Partners, Robeco Sage and Robeco Weiss, Peck & Greer. Products include U.S. equity, U.S. fixed income, fund of hedge funds and alternatives. Additionally, the firm offers global and international equity, including emerging markets, and fixed income products of its European affiliates, including SAM.

sam