Part’Com renames and reaches first close

Part’Com Management, the French media and technology-focused investor, has reached a first closing on its most recent fund Iris Capital II at €100m. The team has also gained its independence from CDC Ixis and renamed itself Iris Capital Management. The group will retain its consulting mandate for the management of Part’Com’s existing portfolio of investments.

Pierre de Fouquet and Antoine Garrigues, the two managing partners of Iris Capital, said: “To have achieved a first closing of this size in today’s wait-and-see fund raising market is a performance to be proud of. We are now carrying out a process that has been long in the making and is entirely in line with the dynamics of the venture capital business; our independence has arisen in perfect accord with Caisse des Dépôts, which has consistently supported us and has renewed its trust by becoming one of the major investors in the new fund.”

The main sponsors of the fund are the French Caisse des Dépots and the German insurance group Ergo, as well as private investors.

The new fund will follow the investment strategy it has developed and followed over the last 15 years with a sector-specific focus on media, communications and information technology in a combination of venture capital and development capital investments.

Formed in 1986 in Paris, the Iris Capital team has managed over 180 investment professionals and achieved 108 exits to date. The 13-strong investment team currently manages over €500m.