Over €148m Allocated to 8 Seed and Venture Capital Funds

Today (Tuesday 3rd June 2008) Enterprise Ireland announced that c€30m is remaining under the 2007-2012 Seed and Venture Capital (VC) Programme and is now available for co-investment.  To date €148.75m has been committed to 8 Seed & Venture Funds. Of these, 5 have completed first closings, including Delta Partners, the AIB Seed Capital Fund, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Kernel Capital Partners and Fountain Healthcare Partners.  A further 3 funds have received commitments and are nearing closing. In total, these 8 funds have already succeeded in raising in excess of €500m for investment in early stage and growing companies, and several are expected to close further fund raising rounds.

Making the announcement Feargal O Moráin, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland said:

"The 2007-2012 Seed and Venture Capital (VC) Programme, the third such programme to date, has been extremely successful in raising finance for investment in Irish companies at all stages of development. With over half a billion raised for investment to date, this is of particular benefit to seed and early stage Irish companies".

"Enterprise Ireland is now inviting applicants for the remaining funds and is seeking co-investors who can raise a minimum fund of €30m and have the ability to access private sector and institutional capital in Ireland and internationally" he added.

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About Enterprise Irelands Seed and Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012:

Venture capital is an essential element of the eco-system for Irish indigenous industry, providing risk capital for companies that would have difficulty raising capital through traditional sources of finance.

The 2007-2012 Seed and Venture Capital programme follows two previous programmes. Under the 1994-1999 Programme, Enterprise Ireland committed €43.9m, which leveraged a total €127m for investment. Under the 2000-2006 programme Enterprise Ireland committed €98m, which resulted in a total €408m for investment.

For Further Information Contact:

Sarah O'callaghan, Enterprise Ireland Press Office tel: (01) 808 2755 mobile: 087 1253221