Evergreen raises $200m for fifth fund

Few of the investors in the fund, the firm's largest to date, are Israeli.

Evergreen Venture Partners has completed the raising of $200 million for its fifth fund. The company held its first closing at $150 million 18 months ago. This is the first fund that Evergreen has raised since the departure of its founding partners. The fundraising is a sort of stamp of approval for the capabilities of its new management.

Evergreen managing partner Erez Shachar said, “We’ve completed the raising for the fund at the target we set. This was an important fundraising for us, and we’re pleased to have reached the goal.”

Shachar added that the fifth fund was the largest fund that the company has raised to date. “We cannot disclose the list of investors, but I can state that 60% of investors in the fifth fund invested in previous Evergreen funds, and 40% are new investors, some of whom have never invested before in an Israeli fund.”

“Globes”: Are there Israeli institutional investors?

Shachar: “Regrettably, Israeli investors account for only a small percentage, compared with foreign investors. I can honestly tell you that we worked very hard with Israeli institutional investors to persuade them to invest in the fund. It’s important to have Israeli investors in funds, and it’s a pity that they opt for investing in foreign venture capital funds. It seems absurd to me. I believe that the Israeli funds available for investment by Israeli institutions are better than the foreign funds to which they have access. I hope that this will change in the future, because I believe that this is a matter of strategic importance for both Israeli funds and investors.”

Evergreen will pursue its present investment strategy of focusing on software, life sciences, Internet, and media start-ups. Shachar added that the venture capital fund was constantly examining new fields. “We’re studying cleantech, and we’re taking it seriously.”

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 10, 2007

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2007

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