There was no substantive change in the performance of Israeli venture capital funds in the first quarter of 2011, indicates California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) in its financial report. Israeli venture capital funds are still mainly losing money.
As previous CalPERS' financial reports show, Carmel Ventures again had the best performance. The Carmel I Fund, which manages $171 million, had a positive return of 5.7% in the first quarter; but the Carmel II Fund, which manages $201 million raised in 2005, had a negative return of 4.7%; while the Carmel III Fund, which raised $235 million in 2008, is too new to show any major achievements.
Jerusalem Venture Partners' JVP IV Fund, which manages $427 million, had a positive return of 3.6% in the first quarter. Pitango Venture Capital's Pitango III Fund, which manages $500 million, had a negative return of 3.3%. The fund has recently chalked up several exits, including the sale of Provigent Inc. to Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM) for $313 million, and the sale of dental imaging device developer Cadent Holdings Inc. to Align Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq; ALGN) for $190 million in cash.
The condition of the Pitango IV Fund, which raised $300 million in 2004, is much better, with a positive return of 1.3% in the first quarter. Pitango is now seeking to raise $250-300 million for a new fund.
Israel Seed Partners had the worst performance in the first quarter, with a negative return of 14.9%. The fund, which manages $120 million, terminated its operations in 2005.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 3, 2011
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