News
Southern Cross Venture Partners completes first closing of new fund at A$100M on way to $200M cap by year-end
Friday, 1 September 2006 Sydney, Australia - Early stage venture capital firm Southern Cross Venture Partners (SXVP), with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Silicon Valley, has announced the first closing of the Southern Cross Fund No. 1 at $100M. The fund has already received further commitments for a second closing of approximately A$35 million, which the firm anticipates finalising shortly. The fund will be capped at A$200M; a number expected to be reached by the end of 2006.
SXVP Managing Director Bob Christiansen said that the Southern Cross Fund had already received excellent support from leading Australian institutional investors, including Macquarie Funds Management and its clients, Quay Australia 3 Fund, Statewide Superannuation Trust, and Westscheme.
The firm was founded in early 2006 and has three Australian-based directors (Bob Christiansen, Bill Bartee and Gareth Dando) and one Silicon Valley-based director (John Scull). All have extensive early-stage VC experience in Australia and the US.
Paul Cheever of Access Economics said "We remain very confident in the prospects for venture investing in Australia and believe that the Southern Cross team, with their track record, deal access and strong international contacts, will play an important part in unlocking this potential value. In time Australian venture managers will be found to be as hard to access as their leading US counterparts are today and we believe it will be to our clients' advantage, in the form of investment returns to their portfolios and in future access to managers, to be early investors in managers such as Southern Cross”.
The fund will focus on early to expansion stage technologies from Australia/New Zealand that leverage the region’s research and innovation strengths in advanced materials, electronics, information technology, telecommunications, nanotech, environmental science, defense, and clean energy. The Southern Cross team will capitalise on its strong existing commercial and VC relationships in the US to quickly move investee companies into the global arena and secure follow-on investments with top-tier international VCs – a model the team has successfully employed in prior funds.
John Brakey, Head of Alternative Investments at Macquarie Investment Management, said “We believe the opportunity is ripe for an experienced team like Southern Cross to leverage its access to early stage deal from the Australia/NZ region, migrate the investee companies into the US and global markets, and in so doing, deliver superior returns for its investors”.
The fund is structured as a Venture Capital Limited Partnership with an attached Unit Trust.
For further information, images or interviews please contact:
Bob Christiansen, Southern Cross Venture Partners, 0418 792 482 or bobc@sxvp.com
Gareth Dando, Southern Cross Venture Partners, 0408 511 835 or gdando@sxvp.com
SXVP Managing Director Bob Christiansen said that the Southern Cross Fund had already received excellent support from leading Australian institutional investors, including Macquarie Funds Management and its clients, Quay Australia 3 Fund, Statewide Superannuation Trust, and Westscheme.
The firm was founded in early 2006 and has three Australian-based directors (Bob Christiansen, Bill Bartee and Gareth Dando) and one Silicon Valley-based director (John Scull). All have extensive early-stage VC experience in Australia and the US.
Paul Cheever of Access Economics said "We remain very confident in the prospects for venture investing in Australia and believe that the Southern Cross team, with their track record, deal access and strong international contacts, will play an important part in unlocking this potential value. In time Australian venture managers will be found to be as hard to access as their leading US counterparts are today and we believe it will be to our clients' advantage, in the form of investment returns to their portfolios and in future access to managers, to be early investors in managers such as Southern Cross”.
The fund will focus on early to expansion stage technologies from Australia/New Zealand that leverage the region’s research and innovation strengths in advanced materials, electronics, information technology, telecommunications, nanotech, environmental science, defense, and clean energy. The Southern Cross team will capitalise on its strong existing commercial and VC relationships in the US to quickly move investee companies into the global arena and secure follow-on investments with top-tier international VCs – a model the team has successfully employed in prior funds.
John Brakey, Head of Alternative Investments at Macquarie Investment Management, said “We believe the opportunity is ripe for an experienced team like Southern Cross to leverage its access to early stage deal from the Australia/NZ region, migrate the investee companies into the US and global markets, and in so doing, deliver superior returns for its investors”.
The fund is structured as a Venture Capital Limited Partnership with an attached Unit Trust.
For further information, images or interviews please contact:
Bob Christiansen, Southern Cross Venture Partners, 0418 792 482 or bobc@sxvp.com
Gareth Dando, Southern Cross Venture Partners, 0408 511 835 or gdando@sxvp.com