Advent International closes media fund

Global private equity investor, Advent International has announced the final closing of its Digital Media & Communications III (DMC III) fund at $345 million, exceeding its original target of $300 million.

Like its predecessors, DMC III is investing in sectors where the integration of communications, information and media technologies and services is creating new market opportunities and significant growth potential for early stage companies.

The fund has already started investing and is focusing on Western Europe and the US. It may also be looking at Israel and other regions where Advent has a local presence.

Half of the fund was raised from major institutional investors and 13 multinational technology corporations provided the other half. Among the corporate investors are Asahi Glass Company, BellSouth Corporation, Hughes Electronics Corporation, MasterCard International Inc, the McGraw-Hill companies, NTT DoCoMo, Omron Corporation, Royal KPN N.V., Samsung Venture Investment Co., Telecom New Zealand, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba Corporation and Tyco Ventures, the venture capital unit of Tyco International Ltd.

Will Schmidt, managing director, said: “We are especially pleased at the high level of participation in DMC III by corporate strategic investors.”

“These corporations are leading players in the fund’s target sectors and add significant value through potential customer and strategic relationships with our portfolio companies.”

He adds that in certain cases, the corporate partners may also make direct co-investments in

the companies.