News
Launch of Third Technology Fund of Funds with the French State, Caisse des Dépôts and EIB Group
Date: 17/10/2005Thierry Breton, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry, Francis Mayer, Chief Executive of Caisse des Dépôts, and Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, today inaugurated the Fonds de Fonds Technologique (Technology Fund of Funds) at the headquarters of Caisse des Dépôts in Paris.
With capital of EUR 150m contributed in equal parts by the French State, Caisse des Dépôts and the European Investment Fund (EIF) - the EIB Group's specialist venture capital arm - the Technology Fund of Funds (TFF) will take participations in venture capital funds that will in turn invest in technology firms.
This fund of funds will be managed by the investment capital subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts, CDC Entreprise. Compared to the Fonds Public pour le Capital Risque (Public Venture Capital Fund) and the Fonds de Promotion du Capital Risque (Venture Capital Promotion Fund - FPCR), launched in 1998 and 2000, which to date have served to finance 31 funds and through them 481 technology firms, the TFF will apply new, more selective investment criteria. It will focus on major players that have the capacity to support enterprise development over the longer term.
The purpose of this joint initiative is to provide additional capital to finance the setting-up and development of innovative SMEs but also to structure the venture capital market by both bolstering existing funds and facilitating the creation of new funds.