The partners at venture capital firm Genesis are pressing their suits and setting out to raise a $150 million fourth fund. On the face of it, the timing is good: only last week, Genesis notched up an impressive exit, with the sale of portfolio company Kidaro to Microsoft for $80-100 million, a four or fivefold return on the money; and in the past couple of years it has enjoyed several more successful exits. However, the markets are at present full of uncertainty. The fog is thick, and several firms have retreated to the bunker, particularly as a number of attempts to raise firms have failed recently, in Israel and elsewhere.
Nevertheless, despite the challenging situation, Genesis is joining Israeli funds such as Giza and Gemini that have already made first closings and are now looking for additional money close the funds. On the other hand, in the past six months Pitango and Carmel have raised new funds with impressive speed, and Genesis, which currently manages $518 million in three funds, hopes for similar success: a swift and fairly easy fund-raising exercise.
"The new fund will be similar in size to the previous funds," says Genesis founder and managing partner Dr. Eyal Kishon. "We will continue to work with a strategy similar to that of the previous funds, which as far as we are concerned has proved itself: investing in companies at early stages, especially in companies that aspire to make a big change. The companies we have already set up and invested in are responding well, we have a varied portfolio, and we aim to assemble another one like it. As far as areas of investment are concerned, with Genesis 3 we started to invest in electronic consumer products, media, and solar energy. I believe that we will continue to innovate, because this is a field that doesn't stand still."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 20, 2008
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