White Star Capital, a transatlantic venture capital group, has raised US$ 70 million in Limited Partner commitments for its first institutional fund.
The Guernsey-domiciled investment vehicle will deploy between US$ 500,000 and US$5 million in initial investments into fledgling technology companies across North America and Western Europe which White Star believe have the potential to achieve global scale.
The fund is primarily backed by sovereign and institutional funds supported by entrepreneurs and family offices from more than 18 markets. The company has already deployed US $25 million into companies such as robotic locksmith KeyMe in New York, IoT predictive analytics firm mnubo in Montreal and financial exchange Cryex in Stockholm.
White Star was co-founded by managing partners Eric Martineau-Fortin, an experienced technology M&A banker, and Christian Hernandez Gallardo, a former Facebook executive. Jean-François Marcoux, the co-founder of gaming company Ludia, joins the pair and a team of experienced former entrepreneurs, who have founded, scaled and exited businesses.
"We are thankful for the support we have received from our Limited Partners in North America and Western Europe, and our peer funds, in evolving White Star Capital from our personal investment vehicle into an established transatlantic VC fund," said Mr Martineau-Fortin.
"We have built an investment team that can borrow from our combined operational expertise to support our entrepreneurs as they scale globally."
Mr Hernandez Gallardo said the ability to create and scale world-class companies was now a global phenomenon.
"We founded White Star Capital to partner with ambitious entrepreneurs from established tech hubs like London and New York, and from fast-emerging clusters like Montreal and Berlin. We see ourselves as active partners to the entrepreneurs we back and will deploy funding, but also add our experience and global network to allow them to succeed in their ambitions," said Mr Hernandez Gallardo.
Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley said: "Guernsey has a built a strong reputation over a number of years in the private equity and venture capital space and we are delighted that White Star Capital has added to this by choosing the Island as the domicile for its first institutional fund. The company has some very exciting plans to work with ambitious entrepreneurs from the technology and fintech space and it's great that Guernsey can be a part of this."
BDC Capital, a subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada, is the anchor investor in White Star Capital. Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President of BDC Capital, said: "We always look to support world-class teams of experienced operators and White Star is best positioned to identify, back and actively help entrepreneurs reach new international markets. Their performance to date showcases the strength of their business model and we look forward to our continued partnership with the team."
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
