The Finnish venture capital company VNT Management has raised 42 million euros at the first closing of its new venture capital fund Power Fund III. Finnish Industry Investment, FoF Growth, the Finnish pension fund Varma, and private investors have made commitments to the new fund.
Power Fund III invests in early and growth stage technology companies primarily in Finland and in other selected European countries. The fund invests in new energy technology and focuses on power electronic applications in particular. The fund will seek approximately 15 companies for its initial investments. Investments will be carried out as minority investments.
Jarmo Saaranen, Chairman of VNT Management comments: We are looking for companies that have potential to succeed on a global scale. They should have strong technology and a functioning prototype, as well as a team that has the right amount of knowledge, experience, and drive for business development. We are particularly interested in Blue Ocean strategies. We believe that renewable energy production will grow significantly, the efficiency of traditional energy forms will receive more emphasis and that we will see more investments in energy efficiency in the future.
In addition to energy and climate regulations, the strong growth in developing countries energy demand has aroused interest in the cleantech sector and made it grow rapidly. This, in turn, has created the need for new solutions in clean energy production and energy efficient solutions.
Power Fund III has found a niche in energy technology that uses Finnish expertise in power engineering in a promising way, says Riitta Jääskeläinen, Investment Director at Finnish Industry Investment.
Power Fund III continues the tradition that VNT Management has managed to successfully create through its two previous funds. The managements strong background and expertise is reflected in the funds narrow focus area. VNT Management is currently one of the most experienced venture capital investors in the cleantech sector in Europe, says Esko Torsti, Chairman of the investment council of FoF Growth.
For further information, please contact:
Jussi Palmroth, Managing Partner, VNT Management
tel: +358 40 837 1560, email: Jussi.palmroth(a)vntm.com
Riitta Jääskeläinen, Investment Director, Finnish Industry Investment
tel: +358 50 309 2733, email: riitta.jaaskelainen(a)industryinvestment.com
VNT is a Finnish Venture Capital Management company with an office in Munich, Germany. VNT is one of the first VC companies in Europe focusing on clean technologies, in particular renewable energies, distributed power generation, and energy saving technologies. At present, VNT has three funds with a total investment capital of 120M under management. VNT mainly invests into technology orientated start-ups and growth companies in Europe. Wide business experience, active management, and fair play are the characteristics of VNT. www.vntm.com
Finnish Industry Investment Ltd is a government-owned investment company which promotes Finnish business, employment and economic growth through venture capital and private equity investments. Finnish Industry Investment invests in funds and directly in growth companies in all sectors. The investment focus is on growth, internationalisation, spin-offs, major industrial investments, and sectoral and corporate restructurings. The investments of Finnish Industry Investment amount to 670 million euros. www.industryinvestment.com