3i, the publicly-listed private equity firm, has agreed to sell interests in ten companies that are currently part of its European venture portfolio to Cipio Partners, a secondary direct investment firm.
The transaction involves late stage venture investments in IT, internet media and cleantech businesses headquartered in various European countries, but no companies were named.
“3i has invested in a number of mature, yet high-growth assets and Cipio is delighted to have been chosen to take over from 3i,” says Roland Dennert, a partner at Cipio. “Our ability to rapidly execute transactions with large asset pools was certainly part of the solution 3i was seeking, and our favourable track record with both vendors and portfolio companies in past deals made Cipio the partner of choice. We are delighted to bring our combined European and US angles to bear for the portfolio companies.”
The transaction reflects the evolution of the private equity industry and of the secondary direct market, with a growing number of private equity firms exploring alternative liquidity routes for their portfolios.
“After starting out with several acquisitions from Fortune 500-type corporations, over the last six to eight quarters Cipio has seen very strong deal flow from the full range of market participants including banks, private equity firms and corporates in our core markets in Europe, the US and the Middle East,” says Maximilian Schroeck, a managing partner at Cipio in the US. “Against the backdrop of the macroeconomic situation, secondary direct market activity is set to increase and we are very well positioned within it.”
3i refocused its strategy away from venture capital to growth capital investment in early 2008.
D.C.