Fund Secondary Buyer Cipio Adds U.S. Office

European secondary buyer Cipio Partners’ has opened an office in San Jose, Calif., to help it pursue more U.S.-based deals.

The secondary direct venture specialist has acquired the services of former Agilent Ventures Managing Director Maximilian Schroeck to run the new office. Schroeck had been the managing director of the Agilent Technologies venture group since early 2001. Prior to Agilent, Schroeck worked with consulting firm A.T. Kearney, where he helped run that firm’s venture fund.

About half of Cipio’s 60 portfolio companies are based in the United States, but the firm had been eager to have a base in the Unites States to pursue more U.S. deals. “The opportunities we see both in Europe and the U.S. have been there before, but we couldn’t aggressively move on those in the U.S. before,” says Schroeck.

Schroeck says that while corporate venture portfolios dominate Cipio’s current pipeline, the firm will likely buy from a broad array of sellers.