Tchenguiz and EADS back Occam

Occam Capital, a France and UK-based IT-focused expansion capital firm, has held a first close of its debut fund, Occam I, with €35m of commitments. The fund received high-profile backing from investors including Consensus Business Group, the investment vehicle of Vincent Tchenguiz, and Franco-German defence and aerospace group EADS.

Occam I has a closing target of €150m, which is expected to be invested in 10 to 15 mature IT companies over the next four years, focusing on assets in the homeland security, telecommunications, enterprise and media sectors. It also plans to lead investment rounds for companies seeking growth capital, management buyouts, spin-offs and private investments in public equities (PIPEs).

The fund has already made its first investment, injecting €2m into Mandriva, a French open source business, alongside earlier investors Millennium Partners, Windhurst Participation, Jacques Le Marois and Francois Bancilhon. Occam has also backed Mandriva’s acquisition of French IT company Linbox.

The firm was founded in 2004 by Laurent Cadieu, former chief executive of equities at BNP Paribas; Marc Goldberg, former general partner of Reuters Venture Capital; and Francois Lepicard, a former partner at McKinsey & Co. Two partners based in Palo Alto and Hong Kong support the fund’s business development.