EIF backs dedicated early-stage team in Germany

EIF backs dedicated early-stage team in Germany

EIF announces a cornerstone investment in Earlybird GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs-KG IV (“EB IV”) Fund. EB IV is a dedicated early stage venture capital (VC) fund based in Munich and focussing on European tech investments in German-speaking countries. The Fund announced a closing at EUR 127m, including the commitment from the ERP-EIF Dachfonds managed by EIF on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), which makes it one of the biggest fund closings in the German VC market this year.

The Earlybird team is a dedicated early stage investor in European venture. EB IV will continue the successful strategy of the predecessor funds and target groundbreaking technology developments which have the potential to grow and generate substantial value for investors. The fund focuses on IT and communication investments as well as CleanTech and MedTech opportunities.

Matthias Ummenhofer, Deputy Head Equity Fund Investments, commented: “Many teams and investors shifted towards growth and late stage investments. At the same time, the conditions for early stage investments in Germany improved tremendously. We are very enthusiastic about this investment opportunity and are convinced that Earlybird will be able to capitalise on it.”

Gunter Fischer, Investment Manager and representing EIF in the Fund’s Advisory Board added: “Earlybird is one of the few remaining investors truly dedicated to early stage technology. Earlybird proved that in Germany too it is possible to achieve first quartile returns through investment in seed companies which are turned into highly valuable businesses. The success stories of Interhyp or Tipp24, which the team supported throughout the whole value creation process from seed projects to market leaders, exemplify this. Both are today internationally renowned.”

The ERP-EIF Dachfonds invests in VC funds focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on German-based high-tech early stage companies. To date some EUR 300m are committed in 11 funds, which in turn have helped raise another EUR 1.3bn from private investors, highlighting EIF's leverage effect on the market.