FRANCE/GERMANY - Demeter holds second close on EUR 182m; backs IGIP

FR/Mareen
27 July 2009

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Demeter Partners has held a second close its EUR 200m fund Demeter 2 on EUR 182m. The fund was launched in November 2008, and takes over from its predecessor Demeter, which closed in October 2006 on EUR 105m and is now fully invested. Both funds backed the German environmental engineering consultancy IGIP.

Like its predecessor, Demeter 2 is dedicated to expansion capital operations as well as early stage operations and majority acquisitions, in eco-energies and eco-industries in France and other European countries.

The new vehicle recently backed German environmental engineering consultancy, Ingenieurgesellschaft für internationale Planungsaufgaben GmbH (IGIP). Headquartered in Darmstadt, IGIP offers consulting services for bilateral and multilateral development cooperation, typically in projects related to water supply and sewage disposal in Africa, the Mediterranean countries and Asia. In 2003 the business was refinanced to support an MBO led by CEO Heiko Schreiber. Found in 1963, business today employs 350 people, and reported a turnover of EUR 17.5m in 2008 with an estimate of EUR 20m for 2009.

The fund also provided USD 7m of a USD 77.6m investment round for California-based SolFocus, a photovoltaic systems company, alongside Apex Venture Partners and previous investors to fund the company's European expansion plans.