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Balderton Capital announces new US$500m Fund

Balderton Capital, Europe’s leading venture capital firm, today announces that it has raised US$430m in the first closing for its new fund. This is Balderton’s fourth fund, having raised US$550m in December 2006, US$375m in July 2004 and US$500m in May 2000.

Based in London, Balderton now manages approximately US$1.8bn in committed venture capital making it one of the largest VC firms outside the US. Since its inception in 2000, Balderton has invested in over 80 companies across a wide variety of technology sectors and geographies, including Europe, the US and China.  Notable investments include bebo, (the social networking site, sold to AOL for US$850m), Betfair (the online betting exchange), Codemasters (the video games publisher), MySQL (the open-source database business, sold to Sun for US$1bn) and Setanta Sports (the European sports broadcaster).

Barry Maloney, General Partner at Balderton, commented:

“This is a great start for the year for Balderton in what is clearly a difficult economic environment. Our first fund was completed at the height of the dot com bust and we went on to invest in some of the strongest companies in our portfolio today. Each economic cycle provides opportunities for the best entrepreneurs and we are excited to be able to invest in tomorrow’s success stories in this our fourth fund.”

Ends.

For more details, please contact
Powerscourt
Victoria Palmer-Moore  44 207 324 0493 or 44 77255 65545
victoria.palmermoore@powerscourtmedia.com

Claire Melly  44 207 250 1446 or 44 7809 525747
claire.melly@powerscourtmedia.com  


Notes to editors

About Balderton Capital

Balderton Capital is a leading venture capital firm, committed to finding and helping talented entrepreneurs build great companies. Balderton Capital approaches investment using the principles of teamwork and an intense dedication to building companies of lasting value. The partners combine Silicon Valley operating and company-building experience with a keen understanding of what it takes to build successful businesses in the media and technology markets. www.balderton.com