Sofinnova closes seventh fund on €240m

Karin Wasteson
11 December 2012

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Sofinnova Partners has closed its seventh fund on the vehicle's €240m hard-cap.

Sofinnova has a 10-year lifetime and a four-year investment period. Sofinnova Capital VII was launched in November 2011 with a €240m target and attracted strong interest from LPs, according to Sofinnova. Jones Day was mandated as legal adviser to the fund, while Asante Capital Group acted as placement agent.

This fundraising follows a three-year period in which Sofinnova was able to successfully divest portfolio companies for a combined enterprise value of $3.6bn. The GP completed the trade sales of portfolio companies Corevalve (sold to Medtronic for up to $850m), Novexel (sold to AstraZeneca for up to $505m), Movetis (sold to Shire for €428m), Fovea (sold to Sanofiaventis for up to €370m) and PregLem (sold to Gideon Richter for up to CHF 445m). Sofinnova also took Stentys and DBV public on Paris Euronext.

Investors
Sofinnova Capital VII attracted institutional investors, predominantly pension funds, funds-of-funds and insurance companies. These included the European Investment Fund, Skandia Life Insurance Company, CNP Assurances and CDC Entreprises. Large investors each provided 10% of overall commitments on average.

In terms of geographical breakdown, European LPs represented two thirds of commitments – this figure marks a significant increase compared to previous Sofinnova vehicles. Around 20% of the LPs in Sofinnova Capital VII come from France, and slightly less than 20% from Scandinavia.

Only one investor is from the US – selling a European fund (let alone a venture or life science fund) to the US is particularly difficult at the moment, Sofinnova told unquote". The Middle East is represented in the LP base as well, mainly via Qatari investors.

Investments
Sofinnova typically invests as a founding and lead investor in corporate spin-offs, start-ups and turnaround situations. The vehicle will perform between 15-20 investments in the €15-20m range across three to four years. Sofinnova Capital VII will, however, consider minimum investments of €5-10m per transaction.

The fund will focus purely on life sciences and continue to make seed investments in industrial biotechnology, medical devices and biopharmaceutical companies.

Sofinnova Capital VII will invest about two thirds of its funds in European companies and a third outside of Europe, mostly in the US.

There are deals in the pipeline but no transactions have been closed yet, the GP told unquote".

People
Sofinnova's investment team is led by managing partner Denis Lucquin.