Northzone VII holds first close on €150m

The Norwegian venture fund, with a target of €200m, will be Northzone's largest fund to date.

Northzone VI launched in 2009 and held a first close on €90m in February 2010. Around a third of the LPs were based in Norway, such as government-backed Argentum. Argentum invested alongside Nordic Private Equity Programme (NPEP), a programme consisting of Argentum's investment partners, contributing €22m in total. Among the international investors was fund-of-funds Capital Dynamics.

Northzone has backed companies such as Spotify, Avito, Tobii, Pricerunner and iZettle. Notable investments it has completed during the past 24 months include SpaceApe Games, Trustpilot, eProspects and Widespace.

Northzone invests in technology companies in Europe, with a particular focus on the Nordic region. It provides both early-stage and expansion financing.

Investors
Existing investors, including Argentum, have contributed significantly to the fund. New backers include Swedish institutional investors SEB Pension Fund and AP6.

Argentum and the firm's partners have committed a total of €23m. Gjensidige is participating through Argentum's programmes for institutional investors, while Yara Pensjonskasse is invested in Argentum Investment Partners (AIP), which also committed to Northzone VII. Argentum made its first investment in Northzone in 2003, when the GP raised €78m for its fourth fund.

Investments
The vehicle will invest primarily in technology companies within the Nordic region, and will selectively consider the rest of Europe.

People
Tellef Thorleifsson and Hans Otterlingis are partners at Northzone.

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