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Index Ventures closes €300m fund Index Ventures III

Index Ventures has closed its fourth fund, Index Ventures III, on €300m. Besides previous investors such as HarbourVest Partners, LGT Capital Partners, Partners Group and Schroders Investors, the fund has also attracted a raft of new investors, including Adams Street Partners, AlpInvest Partners, BP Pension Fund and Horsley Bridge International.

Index Ventures III will be invested over a period of four to five years in technology and life science growth companies, primarily in Europe and Israel.

David Rimer, operating partner at Index Ventures, said, 'Consistent with our strategy, we chose to cap the fund at €300m from the outset. The fact that this was our fastest and most successful fundraising is testament to the rising confidence institutional investors feel for European venture capital.'

Index Ventures, with offices in Geneva, London and Jersey, has been active in technology and life science investment since 1996. Index Ventures III's predecessor fund Index Ventures II, which raised $300m in 2001, is still being invested. Investments from Index Ventures II include Skype, MySQL and Addex Pharmaceuticals.

The fund closing is further evidence of the upturn in venture fundraising since the fourth quarter of 2004. An improvement in the exit environment and the arrival in the market of some of the most experienced venture groups in Europe have helped reawaken investor interest after a dreary period of more than three years.

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