Benchmark Capital’s new €310m fund

VENTURE capital company Benchmark Capital said yesterday that it had created a new European fund worth $375m (€310 million) that would be invested in emerging technology companies across the continent.

The fund, Benchmark Europe II, is a successor to a fund that raised $500 million in May 2000 and invested in 25 different technology companies. Benchmark general partner Barry Maloney, the former Esat Digifone chief executive, said the new fund was proof of the company’s belief that there were opportunities to build leading technology businesses from Europe. “Investors from our first European fund have shown how positively they feel about both our firm’s strategy and the opportunities ahead by re-investing in Benchmark Europe II,” said Mr Maloney. “The new fund enables us to continue building the leading technology venture capital firm in Europe”.

Benchmark was set up in 1995 to provide venture capital to the rapidly-growing number of start-up technology companies that opened for business as commercial use of the internet began to take root. It extended its focus from America to Europe in 2000.

The company is headquartered in Menlo Park in California but has offices in London and Tel Aviv in Israel. Benchmark’s investments include stakes in Irish electronic payments company Alphyra, where it backed an 88 million management buyout in 2003, as well as well-known internet betting exchange Betfair and online auction giant eBay. The new fund launched yesterday had been oversubscribed and faced more demand from investors than it was able to meet, according to the company.

The company also said the money raised would be mainly used to fund companies specialising in electronic commerce, semiconductors and software. Most of the firm’s European investments so far have been in companies based in Britain and Ireland. It plans to invest between $100,000 and $15 million at a time. Typical investments start off at between $3m and $5m.