Deals

European Venture Partners re-brands, closes third fund

European Venture Partners, a provider of venture debt products, has changed its name to Kreos Capital and has closed its third fund on €200m.

-

Kreos Capital, a London-based venture debt provider formerly known as European Venture Partners, has raised a €200 million ($260 million) fund that will lend up to €16 million through both venture loans and venture leases to European and Israeli venture-backed companies.

Raoul Stein, partner at Kreos, said: “We initially decided to change our name in order to differentiate ourselves from competitors. The name Kreos Capital was chosen because ‘kreos’ is Greek for ‘debt’.”

Investors in Kreos’ funds include Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and the European Investment Fund. The previous fund, Kreos II, was raised in 2004, and has so far committed €160 million to 70 deals.

Investments from Kreos II include Phoqus, a drug delivery systems business that floated in 2005, and Colbar, a manufacturer of biomaterials for reconstructive medicine that was bought by J&J in 2006.

Founded in 1998 as Europe’s first venture debt provider, Kreos provides companies with debt financing and growth capital from inception to pre-IPO, typically in the €750,000 to €15 million bracket. According to a press release, it has completed nearly 200 deals and committed more than €400 million since inception. The firm has offices in London, Stockholm and Israel.