Library House has recently published its quarterly data on venture capital investment over Q2 2008. When examining all venture capital deals across the whole of Europe, the data shows a downturn over the last three months of 34% in terms of amount invested (€949m, down from €1.43bn), and 27% fewer deals (357 down from 447). This is clearly a significant drop, which appears to have impacted investment amounts across all sectors.

Whilst the digital media sector, or Mediatech, has clearly been affected by these falls, there is hope that the impact will prove to be less significant. At first glance, the numbers draw some concern; Q2 2008 saw €102m invested in Mediatech, down from €330m in Q1 2008. The count of 63 deals made in this latest quarter is also down from Q1 2008’s 90 deals. However Q1 2008 was a particularly strong quarter, and comparing this quarter to Q4 2007, the deal count is the same.

So all is not lost. Mediatech businesses in particular tend to be less cash-hungry than other venture investment sectors, like biotech or cleantech. Library House data reinforces this by showing that European Mediatech companies have required 22% less funding in order to reach an exit compared to VC-backed companies that are not in the Mediatech sector (trade-sale or IPO since 2006). That lower capital requirement should mean Mediatech businesses are seen as a sound investment, especially at a time when the credit crunch should favour early stage venture capital, as opposed to other kinds of private equity; VC investments rarely have any debt component, and they're made using cash already committed by limited partners, so credit is less relevant.

The problem is not what the good VCs should do, but rather what most VCs actually do. VCs tend to follow each other's example and, as last quarter's data shows, they can be hesitant to invest due to the economic climate and the hesitation of their peers, despite sound arguments suggesting that they shouldn't be.

Fundamentally, digital media remains attractive even in a consumer downturn, mainly because much of the revenue is derived through advertising. Whilst advertising itself takes a hit, losses are pulled from sectors which are already struggling, such as print. Until an equilibrium is attained, wherein percentage ad-spend online is representative of leisure time spent online, this trend is likely to continue, to the detriment of traditional media.

Good Mediatech companies should be able to find funding from the top investors, but the data shows that the economic climate has perhaps caused an oversight of the advantages of early stage Mediatech investment. However, the deal numbers have not fallen significantly, so companies are still getting some funding. Given this assessment, it seems typical Mediatech start-ups, with their efficient capital requirements, should be very well placed to weather the current economic uncertainties.

Library House has been commissioned by Merrill DataSite to examine the awareness and knowledge of Virtual Data Rooms in the European VC and Institutional investor community. Merrill DataSite is the leading global provider of turnkey VDR solutions. Merrill DataSite has hosted virtual data rooms for thousands of clients and millions of visitors, representing transactions totalling multiple billions of dollars in asset value.


Library House has constructed a short survey aimed at privately held companies, investment firms, LPs and large corporations. The survey should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete, but should supply an insight into Virtual Data Room usage.


Merrill Corporation and Library House will donate £5 to the Prince's Trust for every completed survey.


Please follow this link: VDR Survey

Celeno Communications, the Israel-based fabless semiconductor company, has raised $16m (€10.3m) in series C funding from new investors Cisco and Miven Venture Partners, and existing investors Greylock Partners and Pitango Venture Capital. Celeno Communications has developed a range of semiconductors for multimedia WiFi home networking applications. The funding will be used to scale up the company's sales and marketing activities and to enhance next generation product development activities.

AWS Ecoplastics, the UK-based provider of plastic recycling services, has raised £6m (€7.6m) in series B funding from return investor E-Synergy and new investor Robeco. AWS Ecoplastics operates the largest plastic processing plant in the UK and has developed a network of plastics processing managers in the UK and Ireland. The funding will be used to expand the company's processing plant in order to take processing levels up to 100,000 tonnes of mixed plastic bottles a year.

BBI Electric, the Italy-based fabricated busbar trunking producer, has raised £3.6m (€4.5m) in series B funding from new investor Crédit Agricole Private Equity. BBI Electric has developed a range of fabricated busbar trunking products for use in various applications. The funding will be used to develop the company's product range and to expand the company into international markets.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Photo Therapeutics, the UK-based provider of oncological and non-oncological condition management solutions, has been acquired by PhotoMedex for $13m (€8.4m). Photo Therapeutics has developed a range of non-laser light devices and associated skin care products for the treatment of a range of clinical and aesthetic dermatological conditions. The terms of the acquisition comprise of $13m (€8.4m) in cash, with an additional $7m (€4.5m) to be paid on the completion of certain gross profit milestones by Photo Therapeutics between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2009. The acquisition will enable PhotoMedex to strengthen its presence in the dermatology community.

Capsule Technologie, the France-based provider of medical device data integration solutions, has been acquired by private equity firm, Turenne Capital Partenaires for an undisclosed amount. Capsule Technologie has developed a suite of hardware and software products that reformat data for any healthcare information system. The acquisition will enable Capsule Technologie to maintain its position in the market and to accelerate its global expansion.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Jedox, the Germany-based supplier of enterprise technologies for Excel applications, has appointed Arne Petersen to the position of executive vice president, worldwide sales and marketing. Prior to joining the company, Mr Petersen served as vice president, sales, EMEA and managing director at Acresso Software (formerly Macrovision). Before that, Mr Petersen held the positions of sales director and head of Central European operations at Searchspace (Searchspace merged with Semagix in 2006 to form Fortent) and head of sales banking products Central & Eastern Europe at CSC Financial Services Group (formerly Hogan Systems).

Cell Medica, the UK-based developer of cellular therapeutics for immuno-compromised patients, has appointed Nigel Burns as chairman. Prior to joining the company, Dr Burns served as senior vice president, strategic alliances at Cambridge Antibody Technology, having originally held the position of senior vice president, preclinical development. Before that, Dr Burns headed the process technology division at British Biotech (now part of Vernalis) and held scholarships at the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow, India and the California Institute of Technology.

Complete Network Technology, the Ireland-based provider of network infrastructure solutions, has appointed Neil Wisdom to the position of director, sales. Prior to joining the company, Mr Wisdom served as regional sales director, Northern Europe at Fluke Networks. Before that, Mr Wisdom held the positions of business development director, EMEA at Crannog Software (prior to its acquisition by Fluke Networks) and sales and marketing director at LAN Communications, a division of eircom.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Wadaro, the UK-based provider of network parameter measurement software for the mobile telecommunications industry, has revealed to Library House that the company is currently fundraising. Mr Robert Wakeling, Wadaro's chief executive and founder, informed Library House that the company is seeking to raise between £3m and £5m (€3.8m and €6.3m) before the end of 2008. Mr Wakeling went on to state that the funding would be used to take the company's proof of concept system to full production. Mr Wakeling also revealed that the company expected to generate a revenue of £700K (€883K) in the first year after funding, and £3.5m (€4.4m) in the second year.

JogTheWeb, the France-based developer of webpage linking and commenting software, has informed Library House that the company intends to begin fundraising in September 2008. Mr Remy Wilders, JogTheWeb's chief executive and founder, revealed to Library House that the company will be seeking to raise between £1.6m and £4m (€2m and €5m), and intends to close the investment before the start of 2009. Mr Wilder went on to state that the funding would be used towards internationalisation.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net