Water treatment company inge secures €5m in venture capital funding

7 July 2009

German water treatment company inge watertechnologies has concluded a financing round of €5m. This round also included the securing of new investments from BayTech Venture Capital in addition to longterm investors Taprogge Watertech, Emerald Cleantech Fund I, Sustainable Performance Group, (SPG), Siemens Venture Capital, StoneFund and Entrepreneurs Fund.

Founded in the year 2000, inge watertechnologies develops and produces patented membrane technology at its headquarters in Greifenberg, Germany.

Bruno Steis, the CEO of inge watertechnologies, said, ‘The major interest in inge expressed by numerous investors prior to this financing round emphasises just how important water treatment technologies are both for us and for future generations. We seized the opportunity to bring on board another highly-regarded venture capital company in the form of BayTech in order to further strengthen our investor base. The proceeds from this capital increase will allow us to maintain our consistent momentum of international growth while simultaneously equipping us to deal with any uncertainties the crisis may yield.’

Dr Michael Hochholzer, partner at Munich-based BayTech Venture Capital, added, ‘We have been closely following developments at inge watertechnologies AG for quite some time. Our careful analysis has convinced us that the company’s team, technology and strategy are on the right path. By taking a stake in this experienced and highly-specialised ultrafiltration company we have gained an opportunity to enter the globally expanding water treatment market with all its long-term potential.’

BayTech invest at early or expansion stage in technology, cleantech and life sciences start-up companies in Western Europe.

The Entrepreneurs Fund is the venture capital member of the COFRA Group, a global, family-controlled group of businesses. The Entrepreneurs Fund has €100m under management, which it invests in early stage and growth companies, with a focus on Europe. Sectors of interest include life sciences and cleantech sectors, including automotive technologies but excluding solar and wind.

Emerald Technology Ventures invests in cleantech venture capital and operates from offices in Zurich, Switzerland and Montreal, Canada. Emerald has managed three venture capital funds and two venture capital portfolio mandates totaling over €300m. Emerald is currently investing out of its latest fund and is looking for energetic and passionate entrepreneurs with the vision to build world-class clean technology companies.

Sustainable Performance Group AG (SPG) is the world’s first listed investment company for sustainability investments.

Siemens Venture Capital (SVC), the central venture capital organisation within Siemens, invests in early stage technology companies and established growth companies, focusing on the energy, industry and healthcare sectors. To date, the company has invested more than €800m in over 150 companies and 40 venture capital funds.

StoneFund is funded by the Colruyt family, who founded the Belgian groceries retail chain of the same name. A first VC fund of €40m Euro started in 2000. In 2005 they started with a second fund, completely focussed on Cleantech.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: private equity, venture capital, water

This story was published on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 9:05 am and is filed under Europe, deals, water. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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