Tánaiste Mary Coughlan Launches €75m Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund
II Limited Partnership
Dublin, Ireland and London, UK. February 9, 2009: The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD,
today announced the first close of the Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund II
Limited Partnership, with €75 million of commitments. This new entity creates
one of the largest dedicated life science venture capital firms in Ireland and the UK.
Headquartered in Dublin, Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Ltd has an experienced fund
management team of six, based in both Dublin and London. The closing of the new
fund brings the total life science funds currently under management by this team to
over €200 million.
This is the seventh fund supported by Government through Enterprise Ireland’s
€175m Seed and Venture Capital Programme 2007-2012, and is the second fund
dedicated to the Life Sciences sector.
Making the announcement the Tánaiste said:
"Seed and venture capital are essential for the growth and development of
successful high potential Irish business and I am delighted to announce the creation
of the Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund II Limited Partnership. This fund is hugely
important, marking a significant increase in the availability of capital for companies
in the life sciences sector.
It underpins Enterprise Ireland’s strategy in supporting the sustained growth and
internationalisation of this sector and will help drive the commercialisation of new
and innovative products from ambitious Irish companies"..
The new fund will be dedicated to product focused, innovative early and mid-stage
life sciences companies, including potentially some investments in public companies,
primarily in Ireland and the United Kingdom, that offer a significant potential
investment return. The firm intends to invest in 10 to 15 companies, focused
primarily on therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics but will also consider
other opportunities in the life sciences sector. The fund will lead or co-lead its
investments with an average investment size of about €5.0m to €7.0m per company
over the life of the fund.
Investors in the Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Fund II Limited Partnership are made
up of Enterprise Ireland and other institutional investors including the National
Pensions Reserve Fund.
Peter Sandys, Managing Partner of Seroba Kernel Life Sciences, commenting on the
fund launch said:
"We are delighted to announce our first close, particularly in the current economic
environment, which I think speaks to the quality of our investment strategy. We feel
this is an excellent time to launch a new life sciences fund as there are attractive
entry valuations for new investors and an ongoing robust demand for new
innovative healthcare products. With a broad base of tier 1 institutional investors
our new fund is well positioned to capitalise on the significant investment
opportunities within the Irish and European Life Sciences sector."
Niall Olden, Managing Partner of Kernel Capital said:
"It is important for the Irish Venture Capital industry that we created a firm of scale
that has the ability to compete with the best in Europe. This Joint Venture brings
together an exceptional investment team, with substantial relevant experience and
an excellent track record. This €75m Life Science Fund compliments our existing
€110m Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Funds I & II, which continue to invest in
ambitious and innovative indigenous companies in non Life Science sectors."
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