Lakestar’s New $735 Million Fund Adds to European VC Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Lakestar has raised $735 million for its European investment funds, part of a wave of capital that’s fueling the continent’s venture capital scene.The money will be split between two funds with a third going to early stage companies and the rest to more mature “growth” companies, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.This year has already seen Atomico, the London-based tech investment firm, raise $820 million for its fifth fund targeting European startups. Other significant new funds include Balderton Capital and Northzone, who raised a combined $900 million late last year.“Finally venture capital has become a profitable asset class of its own in Europe,” Lakestar founder Klaus Hommels said in an interview.The firm started raising the fund in 2018, people familiar with the discussions said at the time, the year that Stockholm-based Spotify Technology SA achieved a valuation above $25 billion with its direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange and Adyen NV raised about 947 million euros ($1 billion) in its June debut in Amsterdam.Hommels, an early backer of Spotify Technology SA, Facebook Inc. and Skype, founded Lakestar in 2013. The company now has offices in Switzerland and London, and recent investments include hotel data startup Impala and German-based Scoutbee and Sennder -- companies focused on supply chain and logistics.The money, which will be used to invest in early stage and growth companies, will be split among two funds. One third of the capital will be used to invest in early stage investments while the rest will be allocated to a fund investing in growth companies.Speedinvest GmbH, the Austrian venture capital firm, on Tuesday also announced that it has raised 190 million euros for its third fund, and is planning to invest in fintechs and in startups focusing on the industrial and health sectors.\--With assistance from Matthias Wabl.To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Syed in London at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at [email protected], Amy ThomsonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P. Read More...

(Bloomberg) — Lakestar has raised $735 million for its European investment funds, part of a wave of capital that’s fueling the continent’s venture capital scene.

The money will be split between two funds with a third going to early stage companies and the rest to more mature “growth” companies, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday.

This year has already seen Atomico, the London-based tech investment firm, raise $820 million for its fifth fund targeting European startups. Other significant new funds include Balderton Capital and Northzone, who raised a combined $900 million late last year.

“Finally venture capital has become a profitable asset class of its own in Europe,” Lakestar founder Klaus Hommels said in an interview.

The firm started raising the fund in 2018, people familiar with the discussions said at the time, the year that Stockholm-based Spotify Technology SA achieved a valuation above $25 billion with its direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange and Adyen NV raised about 947 million euros ($1 billion) in its June debut in Amsterdam.

Hommels, an early backer of Spotify Technology SA, Facebook Inc. and Skype, founded Lakestar in 2013. The company now has offices in Switzerland and London, and recent investments include hotel data startup Impala and German-based Scoutbee and Sennder — companies focused on supply chain and logistics.

The money, which will be used to invest in early stage and growth companies, will be split among two funds. One third of the capital will be used to invest in early stage investments while the rest will be allocated to a fund investing in growth companies.

Speedinvest GmbH, the Austrian venture capital firm, on Tuesday also announced that it has raised 190 million euros for its third fund, and is planning to invest in fintechs and in startups focusing on the industrial and health sectors.

–With assistance from Matthias Wabl.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Syed in London at [email protected]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at [email protected], Amy Thomson

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