Last week, the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System approved an investment of up to $25 million for a new fund by Ignition Partners and up to $1.2 million to purchase a secondary interest in the second late stage fund of Meritech Capital Partners. The investment in Meritech Capital Partners II is in addition to a previous $24.6 million commitment to the same fund, which raised about $740 million in 2000. Palo Alto, Calif-based Meritech also is investing from a $400 million third fund that it raised in 2005.
The target of the Ignition Partners’ fund IV is not known, but the Bellevue, Wash.-based firm raised $400 million for fund III, which closed in 2004.
The investments were part of $181 million in alternative investments that Penn. SERS authorized last week.
The state pension fund also agreed to invest up to $20 million in the fund IV of the Swedish private equity firm Segulah; up to $10 million in Avenue Special Situations Fund V, which was in addition to a $60 million commitment previously authorized by the board; up to $100 million for Bain Capital’s 10th fund; and up to $25 million to TPG’s fifth Asian buyout fund.
Zone loses partner
Los Angeles-based Zone Ventures is pushing ahead with plans to raise a third fund, despite losing longtime Partner Paulo de Rezende Jr., according to Private Equity Insider. The reasons for his departure or his location are unknown.
The firm, which is affiliated with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is raising up to $150 million for its thrid early stage tech fund. The firm, led by Managing Director Frank Creer and Partner N. Darius Sankey, raised $100 million for fund II in 1999.
Zone was an investor in DivX Inc., a San Diego-based provider of video compression technology. DivX raised about $47 million from Zone and otehr investors vefrore it launched a $150 million IPO last year.
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