Sources inform ''Globes'' that Vintage Venture Partners has closed its first $45 million for its $75 million second fund. In contrast to the Vintage I Fund, which focused on secondary investments, the Vintage II Fund will be a fund of funds.
With this closure, Vintage Venture Partners has become Israel’s first fund to close a fund of funds. Vintage Venture Partners managing partner is Alan Feld, and it is affiliated with Aharon and Shlomo Dovrat’s Dovrat Group. Shlomo Dovrat is also a general partner in Carmel Ventures, and Aharon Dovrat is a member of its investment team. Vintage Venture Partners is expected to invest in other venture capital funds specializing in seed and early stage investments in life sciences, information technology, communications, and clean technology companies. Investments are expected to be $5-9 million each.
Investors in the Vintage II fund include three large Israeli investment institutions, headed by Israel Phoenix Assurance Ltd. (TASE:PHOE1;PHOE5), the leading investor in Vintage, as well as US, Canadian, and European insurance companies, family trusts and private investors.
Vintage Venture Partners expects to raise the full $75 million by March 2006.
Vintage Venture Partners provided another piece of interesting information: Grove Street Advisors founder and managing partner Clinton P. Harris is joining its advisory board. Since 1998, Grove Street Partners has managed investments for California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). Through Grove Street Partners, CalPERS has invested tens of millions of dollars in six Israeli venture capital funds, and, so far as is known, opened the door for these funds to other US investment institutions.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 8, 2005