Catalyst CEL Fund announced today that it had closed with commitments in excess $200 million. The Fund is the first dedicated Israel-China private equity fund, and was established in partnership with Catalyst Private Equity, a leading Israeli private equity firm and China Everbright Ltd., a leading Hong Kong based asset manager.
Catalyst cofounder and managing partner and Catalyst CEL Fund managing partner Yair Shamir said, "Our vision is to support the growth and establishment of innovative Israeli companies as global market leaders across a variety of industries. We provide an attractive alternative to Israeli entrepreneurs selling their businesses too early and provide mature companies with the capital and support for creating larger global businesses including access to capital from China and the vast China market opportunity."
Since the Fund’s first closing in April 2014, Catalyst CEL Fund has effected two successful investments including a controlling stake in Lamina Technologies, an Israeli founded, Swiss based manufacturer of state-of-the-art, sub-micron, precision metal cutting tools. Lamina’s unique technology coupled with the Chinese market demand fit the Fund’s investment strategy. Since its investment, the Fund has worked together with Lamina’s management to expand its China footprint by establishing on the ground China presence and partnerships with leading Chinese state owned and private enterprises. The Fund’s second investment into a cutting-edge 3D printing company was closed during the last week of January 2016.
Catalyst cofounder and managing partner Edouard Cukierman said, "We are very proud and grateful for the support of our long-term investors who have stayed with us for many years and decided to commit their capital to our most recent and third Fund, the Catalyst CEL Fund. We see their commitment as a strong vote of confidence and we look forward to building on our track record and delivering superior returns to our investors."
Alain Dobkin, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Catalyst CEL Fund cofounder and managing partner Alain Dobkin said,"We are very gratified to have reached our capital raising target and to have raised significant capital from many new investors including leading Chinese institutional and strategic investors as well as leading investors from Israel, North America and Europe. We see many exciting investment opportunities in the market and are now positioned with this new fund platform to make great investments and have a strategic material impact on enhancing the value of our portfolio companies."
CEL CEO Chen Shuang said, "We are confident that there are many interesting opportunities between the Israeli and Chinese markets. The successful closing and size of our Fund confirms our assessment and shows the confidence our investors have in our strategy which makes us very proud."
China Everbright Limited Head of Mergers and Acquisition Department and Managing Partner of Catalyst CEL Fund Shengyan Fan said, "Israeli companies are well positioned for China’s macro developments and the ongoing domestic technological upgrade. We hope that our Fund will encourage more Israeli companies to consider China a key growth market as well as a potential place for public market exits."
Catalyst CEL Fund invests in mid-to-late stage companies with proven innovation and global presence, whose growth strategy is oriented towards activities in emerging markets with a special focus on the Chinese market. Focus sectors for the Fund include industrials, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, water, energy, technology, media and telecommunication among others.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 2, 2016
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