According to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, 107 private equity funds focused on investing in the emerging markets of Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa raised US$21.5 billion in capital commitments in the first half of 2007, compared to US$33.2 billion raised by 162 funds in all of 2006. Here’s their release in pdf.
Climate Change Capital raised €200 million for a new private equity fund that will focus on clean-tech opportunities in Europe. Limited partners include AlpInvest, Robeco, HSBC, USS, Alliance Trust, Bankinter, Woelbern Group and Harcourt. The fund will focus on expansion-stage, later-stage and buyout opportunities, in areas like clean power, clean transportation, energy efficiency, waste recovery and water.
Environmental Capital Partners, a new firm, will focus on middle-market opportunities in the “green” space. ECP recently received a $100 million cornerstone commitment from New York Private Bank & Trust, and is planning to raise an additional $100 million from other limited partners. Its typical transaction will require an equity investment of between $10 and $25 million, for companies focused on such things as green consumer products, eco-friendly building materials, alternative energy and industrial environmental services.
Miasole Inc., a US manufacturer of thin-film solar cells, has raised $50 million in Series D funding. The deal included six new investors. Miasole previously had raised $56 million from firms like Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Firelake Strategic Technology Fund, Garage Technology Ventures and Nippon Kouatsu Electric Company. Company CEO David Pearce had told Cnet last September that the company expected to go public within 12 to 18 months.
Ceres Inc., a US developer of energy crops that can be planted as feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production, has raised $75 million in Series F funding led by Warburg Pincus. It is unclear who else participated in the deal. Ceres has previously raised over $77 million in VC funding from Artal Luxembourg, Oxford Bioscience Partners, GIMV, H&Q, KBC, Monsanto Co., Oppenheimer Funds, QuestMark Partners and Towerbrook Capital Partners. A 2001 round came with a post-money valuation of nearly $200 million.
Solarity Inc., a developer of nano-structured solar cells, has raised $5 million in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates, according to a regulatory filing. The company is being spun out of Georgia Tech, and is founded by Ajeet Rohatgi.
Nanosolar Inc., a US provider of lower-cost solar energy panels, has received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company has previously raised VC funding from such firms as Mohr, Davidow Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Mitsui & Co., Onpoint, SAC Capital, GLG Partners, Swiss Re and Grazia Equity.
Solar Power Partners Inc. has secured $6 million of a $6.2 million Series A round, according to a regulatory filing. Globespan Capital Partners led the deal, with Globespan partners Barry Schiffman and Ullas Naik joining the SPP board of directors. The Mill Valley, California-based company develops, owns and managers a distributed network of mid-size commercial solar energy facilities that is remotely managed from a central location.
Solar Notion Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based maker of solar energy panels, has raised around $10 million in Series A funding led by hedge fund Third Point, according to a regulatory filing.
Solazyme Inc., a US developer of biofuels through the use of microalgae, has raised $5 million in venture debt funding from BlueCrest Capital Finance. The company previously raised around $9 million in VC funding from The Roda Group and Harris & Harris Group.
Pentadyne Power Corp., a US commercial manufacturer of clean energy storage systems, has raised $14 million in a venture recap round led by Loudwater Investment Partners.
Tioga Energy Inc., a US provider of solar power purchasing services, has raised an additional $4 million in Series A funding led by Nth Power. The round is now closed with just over $14 million, including capital from NGEN Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Rockport Capital, DFJ Frontier and Kirlan Ventures. Tioga is basically a restart of CerOx Corp., which closed earlier this year after having raised around $15 million over two rounds.
Solarcentury Holdings Ltd., a UK supplier of solar energy systems, has raised £13.5 million in new VC funding. Zouk Ventures led the deal, and was joined by Vantania Holdings, Foursome Investments and return backers VantagePoint Venture Partners and Scottish and Southern Energy.
ClearEdge Power, a US fuel cell developer, has secured around $6.47 million of a $19.47 million Series C round, according to a regulatory filing. The only listed backer is existing shareholder Applied Ventures.
Sierra Nevada Solar Inc., a US solar energy startup, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding, according to a regulatory filing. No investor information was disclosed.
Cocona Inc., a US maker of textiles using green-friendly polymers derived from coconut shells, has raised $4.86 million in Series A funding led by FairHaven Capital Partners, according to a regulatory filing.
Purple Labs, a France-based provider of embedded Linux solutions for the wireless market, has raised $14.5 million in Series A funding. The deal was led by Sofinnova Partners, which five months ago bought a majority stake in the company from Vitelcom of Spain. Other backers include Earlybird Venture Capital and Partners Group.
Intalio Inc., a US provider of open-source business process management software, has raised an undisclosed amount of VC funding led by Partech International. This follows a $2.3 million recap earlier this year, and includes return backers 3i, Cargill Ventures, Sippl MacDonald Ventures, Woodside Fund, and XML Fund.
Yahoo Inc. has agreed to buy Zimbra Inc., a US maker of open-source email server software,for around $350 million. No other financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in Q4. Zimbra has raised $28.5 million since 2004, from firms like Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Presidio STX.
Whole Body Inc., a national chain of yoga and fitness studios, has raised $13 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Highland Capital Partners led the deal, with Dan Nova and Corey Mulloy taking board seats. Whole Body was founded by Rob Wrubel, an entrepreneur-in-residence with Highland between June 2001 and July 2002.
AEA Investors has hired Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of portfolio company Burt’s Bees Inc., a US maker of personal care products like lip balm. The news was first reported by The Deal, which said buyers may pay up to $1 billion.
Spectrum K12 School Solutions Inc., a US provider of special education and IEP management software, has raised $5.7 million in Series B-1 funding, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include Novak Biddle Venture Partners and Updata Partners. Past backer Warburg Pincus is not listed on the filing, but lists Spectrum K12 as a portfolio company on its website.
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