Big Bang Ventures closes €31 million second fund

Funding availability

The Belgium-based venture capital firm Big Bang Ventures announced the final closing of its second fund, Big Bang Ventures II at €31 million.

Big Bang Ventures II follows Big Bang Ventures I, a €10 million fund that closed in December 2000. The new fund will focus on investments in early-stage companies in information, semiconductor and communication technology in and around the Benelux region.

ARKimedes-Fonds, Trustcapital, which was also lead investor of BBV’s debut fund, and a mix of family offices, IT industry executives and BBV management participated in the initial closing, while the European Investment Fund (EIF) committed €5.3 million to the final closing.

With commitments in excess of €3.8 billion invested in 244 venture capital and private equity funds and €11.1 billion committed in guarantee schemes, the EIF is the lead funder of VC funds in Europe and a major contributor in providing access to European SMEs with access to finance. The fund is participating in Big Bang Ventures II using European Union funds from the European Commission’s ETF Start-up Facility.

Francis Carpenter, EIF’s Chief Executive, said, “There are currently very few players in the seed and early stage in the Benelux and EIF wants to play a role in supporting strong, operational management teams such as Big Bang Ventures.”

Big Bang Ventures II expects to invest around €2 million to €3 million in 12 to 15 companies. The lifetime of the fund will be 10 years.

Formed in 2000, Big Bang Ventures has more than €40 million under management. Past investments include DataCenterTechnologies, sold to Symantec; Dedigate, acquired by Terremark; and Clear2Pay, a payments technology company.