News
Southern Cross launches $200M venture capital fund
Monday, 18 September 2006 Southern Cross Venture Partners has launched one of Australia’s largest early-stage venture capital funds - the Southern Cross Fund - a A$200M fund which will focus on early-stage investments in materials, electronics, IT, telecommunications, nanotechnology, environmental science, defence and clean energy in the Australian R&D market.
Southern Cross Venture Partners 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 VC firms.
The Southern Cross Fund has already received strong support from leading Australian institutional investors, including Macquarie Funds Management, with the Fund just completing its first close at A$100M.
The Fund will be capped at A$200M, a level expected to be reached by the end of 2006.
The Fund will seek to generate strong returns by taking advantage of favourable conditions in the Australian marketplace for early-stage capital investment.
“The Australian marketplace is highly attractive for early-stage technology investing due to the excellent deal flow and persistent shortfall of early-stage venture capital,” said Southern Cross Venture Partners Managing Director Bob Christiansen.
“The fallout from the tech bust saw investors move towards more conservative later-stage investments, but the time is now ripe for early-stage investing as a new stream of experienced entrepreneurs and interesting innovations emerge.
“Our experience shows the Australian early-stage market is grossly undercapitalised with not enough capital to support the qualified deal-flow for at least the next four to five years.
“This in turn presents terrific opportunities for the Fund to access the best deals at very attractive prices.
“The combination of high quality opportunities, rich innovation, decreased competition and low valuations, makes the early-stage Australian market highly attractive.
“Matching this opportunity with our team’s experience and strong US relationships generates the potential for superior returns for investors,” he said.
The Fund is on the verge of concluding its first investment with an announcement expected in the next fortnight.
The Southern Cross management team has more than 40 years of successful early-stage venture capital experience with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Silicon Valley.
Southern Cross 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).
For further information contact:
Gerard Reilly, BBS Public Relations Tel: (07) 3221 6711
Southern Cross Venture Partners 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 VC firms.
The Southern Cross Fund has already received strong support from leading Australian institutional investors, including Macquarie Funds Management, with the Fund just completing its first close at A$100M.
The Fund will be capped at A$200M, a level expected to be reached by the end of 2006.
The Fund will seek to generate strong returns by taking advantage of favourable conditions in the Australian marketplace for early-stage capital investment.
“The Australian marketplace is highly attractive for early-stage technology investing due to the excellent deal flow and persistent shortfall of early-stage venture capital,” said Southern Cross Venture Partners Managing Director Bob Christiansen.
“The fallout from the tech bust saw investors move towards more conservative later-stage investments, but the time is now ripe for early-stage investing as a new stream of experienced entrepreneurs and interesting innovations emerge.
“Our experience shows the Australian early-stage market is grossly undercapitalised with not enough capital to support the qualified deal-flow for at least the next four to five years.
“This in turn presents terrific opportunities for the Fund to access the best deals at very attractive prices.
“The combination of high quality opportunities, rich innovation, decreased competition and low valuations, makes the early-stage Australian market highly attractive.
“Matching this opportunity with our team’s experience and strong US relationships generates the potential for superior returns for investors,” he said.
The Fund is on the verge of concluding its first investment with an announcement expected in the next fortnight.
The Southern Cross management team has more than 40 years of successful early-stage venture capital experience with offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Silicon Valley.
Southern Cross 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).
For further information contact:
Gerard Reilly, BBS Public Relations Tel: (07) 3221 6711