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Capricorn Venture Partners renamed to Capricorn Partners

2 September 2019

As of today, Capricorn Partners is the new name of Capricorn Venture Partners. Capricorn Partners reflects better some recent changes in the structure of the company and the broader scope of funds that the company is currently managing.

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Since the merger with Quest Management, the company operates two business lines: (i) venture capital and (ii) quoted equity management. In venture capital, Capricorn Partners is managing five funds: Capricorn Digital Growth Fund, Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, Capricorn ICT Fund, Capricorn Health-Tech Fund and Capricorn Cleantech Fund and three related feeder funds. In the last year, two important milestones were achieved in the venture capital business line: the final closing of Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund with a committed capital of € 86.5 million and the first closing of Capricorn Digital Growth Fund at € 48.4 million.

In addition, Capricorn Partners has started Capricorn Scorpio Investment Management, a joint venture investment advisory company based in China, which together with Capricorn Partners is to act as the exclusive investment advisor of a newly established RMB 350 million (€ 45 million) China – Belgium (Europe) Technology Innovative Industry Fund. Capricorn Partners is also the management company of Quest for Growth and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund and Quest+, both sub-funds of Quest Management SICAV. The quoted equity business of Capricorn Partners (Quest Cleantech Fund, Quest+ and the quoted equity portfolio of Quest for Growth) has grown it assets under management from just over € 60 million at the time of the merger to more than € 220 million today. This was realized thanks to strong performance and cash inflow from existing and new investors.

Secondly, the capital structure of Capricorn Partners was opened to a number of key members of staff in order to become a true partnership. Before, the company was majority-owned by Dr Jos B. Peeters, founder and chairman of the executive committee, with Prof Philippe Haspeslagh, chairman of the board of directors, as the only other shareholder. Exactly one year ago, members of the executive committee Yves Vaneerdewegh and Sabine Vermassen and senior investment managers Olaf Cörper and Katrin Geyskens joined as shareholders and became partners of Capricorn Partners.

This evolution into a diversified manager of venture & growth capital and quoted equity investments and the creation of a broader partnership puts Capricorn Partners in an excellent position to support its future growth and realise its mission to help providing “Capital for Innovation, Impact and Growth”.

Text and picture: Capricorn Partners

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