Library House recently compiled figures for Q2 2008 European venture capital investment, which will be the focus of this week’s article. The quarter saw VC investment fall significantly across Europe, from €1.43bn last quarter, to just €949m this quarter, representing a drop of 33.6 per cent. This is also much lower than the corresponding quarter last year, when €1.3bn was invested.

The number of deals across Europe during the quarter was also down on previous quarters. There were 357 deals in Q2 2008, compared to 447 in Q1 2008, representing a drop of 20 per cent  on the previous quarter. This was also 13 per cent less than Q2 2007, which had 410 deals.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. Most VC investors are up beat about the current venture market, but uncertain economic times have been delaying some investment decisions, especially for first rounds. Many of the investments in the quarter were directed towards follow on investment rounds, in more established companies where capital has already been committed. It seems a short spell of risk aversion and consolidation is taking place. Deal activity so far in Q3 2008 indicates a bounce back in the current quarter could well be on the cards.

Top 5 deals roundup

Top deal of the quarter was UK-based Apatech, one of the world leaders in synthetic bone graft technologies, receiving a 5th round funding of €29.4m on the 16th of June. The second biggest deal was a substantial first round of €28m to a pioneer in Internet retail, Nedtherlands-based Netretail Holding, in a syndicated deal involving 3TS Capital Partners and Intel Capital. Other deals making up the top 5 of the quarter include a second round €27.5m deal for biopharmaceutical firm Apogenix, a €25.9m 4th round funding for Israel-based Vascular Biogenics and a €25.4m 6th round for the well established UK-based Icera Semiconductor.

Top 5 exits roundup

Biggest exit was the €150m sale of German-based cancer drug developer U3 Pharma, to the Japan-based Pharma Daiichi Sankyo. Second was the €101.1m buy-out of another Pharma focusing on cancer treatments, UK-based PIramed acquired by Roche. Third was the €38.7m acquisition of Tech Track featured Sarian Systems, a UK-based manufacturer of mission critical IP routers, acquired by Digi International, and fourth was the €31.5m sale of mobile data backup solutions company ZYB to Vodafone. The fifth biggest exit was JacobsRimell, which was sold to Amdocs for €28.6m.

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

Plastic Logic, the UK-based developer of plastic electronics, has raised $50m (€34m) from existing investors Oak Investment Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, BASF Venture Capital, Banc of America Capital Investors, Dow CVC, Intel Capital, Morningside Technology Ventures, Nanotech Partners, PolyTechnos Venture-Partners, Siemens Venture Capital, Tudor Investment Corporation and Yasuda Enterprise Development. Plastic Logic is developing a range of plastic electronics products, focusing on the fields of information access, organisation, and consumption. The funding will be used to expand business operations in order to support the launch of the company's first commercial product in 2009 and to further develop IP.

ESBATech, the Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical company, has raised $22m (€14.8m), from exisiting investors BioMedinvest, Clarus Ventures, HBM Biopartners, Novartis Venture Fund, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences and VI Partners. The capital raised represents a extension to the company's series B round, which closed in 2006. ESBATech specialises in pre-clinical research in the field of disease relevant gene identification and functional screenings for lead compounds in cell based assays for the drug discovery process. The funding will be used to expand the company's development pipeline and to move ESBATech's lead molecule, ESBA105, into clinical trials.

Enigmatec, the UK-based provider of policy-driven automation solutions, has raised $14m (€9.4m) from new investors Scottish Enterprise Fund and Noble Group, and existing investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Herald Ventures, Pentech Ventures and Kevin Lomax. Enigmatec has developed a range of products for data centre automation for "on-demand" enterprise IT environments. The funding will be used to expand international operations, scale up sales and marketing, and to establish a centre of excellence in Scotland.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Pixer Technology, the Israel-based supplier of semiconductor capital equipment, has been acquired by Carl Zeiss SMT for an undisclosed amount. Pixer Technology manufacturers semiconductor apparatus, specialising in photomask solutions. The acquisition will enable Carl Zeiss to strengthen its position as an equipment provider for the semiconductor industry in the world market, and to expand its product portfolio in the field of photomask development.

Racing-Live, the France-based, online, motor-sport news and information magazine, has been acquired by ESPN for an undisclosed amount. Racing-Live operates a suite of websites focusing on motor sport, including: Racing-Live.com, F1-Live.com, Rally-Live.com, Moto-Live.com and Raid-Live.com. The acquisition will enable ESPN to extend its online motor sport coverage and to benefit from Racing-Live's existing user base.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Glasses Direct, the UK-based online spectacles retailer, has appointed Kevin Cornils as chief executive. Prior to joining the company, Mr Cornils served as managing director of Advertising.com UK and chief executive at buy.com. Before that, Mr Cornils held the position of vice president, marketing and business development at match.com. Previously, he worked as a consultant for Bain and Company, and held an associate position at Credit Suisse Firt Boston.

Hymite, the Denmark-based manufacturer of hermetic µ-housings for optoelectronic and MEMS components, has appointed Christian Tang-Jespersen as chief executive and president. Prior to joining the company, Mr Tang-Jespersen served as president, APAC, at Global Closure Systems. Before that, he held the position of senior vice president at GN (Jabra) Asia Pacific, and, prior to that, senior vice president at GN Netcom.

Kontera Technologies, the Israel-based provider of In-Text contextual advertising and information services, has appointed Yaron Garmazi to the position of chief financial officer. Prior to joining the company, Mr Garmazi served as chief financial officer at a number of technology companies, including: Passave, Ness Technologies and Nogatech.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net

Swoodoo, the Germany-based provider of flight search and booking services, has revealed to Library House that the company expects to seek additional funding in 2009. Mr Christian Saller, Swoodoo's chief executive, informed Library House that the company intends to raise between €5m and €10m. Mr Saller went on to state that the funding would be used for international expansion.

YouLicence, the Israel-based global online music licensing marketplace, has informed Library House that it plans to raise additional funding in October 2008. Mr Maor Ezer, YouLicence's chief executive and co-founder, revealed to Library House that the company is currently deciding on the amount of capital will be sought in the round. Mr Ezer stated that the funding would be used for company development, marketing and to expand the company's offerings.

More companies' intelligence at www.libraryhouse.net