Fund Briefs, July 2010

Edgestone to Merge with Bridgescale

Edgestone Venture Capital Fund, a Canadian venture firm, has agreed to merge with Bridgescale Partners, a growth equity investor based in Menlo Park, Calif.

Sources familiar with the situation say the merger was driven by Edgestone’s desire to create a cross-border partnership with a Silicon Valley tech investor.

“This could be a game changing move for the Canadian technology venture landscape that needs some fresh good news,” says one of the sources.

The sources say the merged firm could help U.S. technology startups launch IPOs on the Toronto Stock Exchange as an alternative to listing on the Nasdaq. —Pav Jordan, Reuters

BlackBerry Partners Seeks China-Focused Fund

The BlackBerry Partners Fund is raising $100 million for an affiliate fund focused on mobile investments in China. It is being launched as a joint venture with China Broadband Capital Partners.

The firms say the new fund is expected to close in August.

Polaris Lowers TargetPolaris Venture Partners has cut the target of its sixth fund from $500 million to $400 million, according to a recent regulatory filing. The Boston-based firm had closed on $233 million, as of May 26. The firm raised $1 billion for its fifth fund. Polaris did not return requests for comment.

An LP source says that the revised plan is to hold a final close in the third or fourth quarter.

Vista Ventures Nixes Plans for Second Fund

Early stage tech investor Vista Ventures has given up on its efforts to raise a $125 million second fund. It started fund-raising last year.

Vista, based in Boulder, Colo., raised $75 million for its inaugural fund in 2000. That fund was partly backed by the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Co. program.

Chrysalix Closes Third Energy Fund

Vancouver-based cleantech investor Chrysalix Energy has wrapped up its latest fund with $125 million in commitments, a significant increase from its second fund raised fiv years ago.

As previously reported, investors in the fund include Credit Suisse, through an investment made from the LP’s affiliate Oregon Investment Fund. Other investors in the fund include Total Energy Ventures, Kuwait Petroleum Corp., Delta Lloyd Private Equity, Robeco Clean Tech Private Equity, Sitra, FondAction and European utilities Fortum and Essent.

Chrysalix raised $70 million for its second fund, which closed in 2005.

Flagship Looks to Flag Down $300M

Flagship Ventures, a Cambridge, Mass.-based venture firm focused on cleantech and life sciences opportunities, has begun raising its latest fund with a $300 million target. The firm already has secured a $20 million commitment from the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Board.

Flagship raised $235 million for its previous fund, which closed in 2007.

JVP Raises $25M Annex Fund

Jerusalem-based venture firm JVP announced last month that it had raised $25 million as an annex to its $400 million fourth fund, which was raised in 2000. The annex fund will be used to back portfolio companies from JVP IV.

The firm said that one company from fund IV that may benefit from the annex vehicle is Qlik Technologies, which is in registration for an IPO. Qlik generated sales of $157 million in 2009, according to a prospectus recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Omidyar Backs Social Innovation Fund

Omidyar Network has committed $10 million over two years to the Social Innovation Fund, a public-private partnership launched last year to support social entrepreneurs and innovative nonprofit organizations.

Canada’s Vanedge Raises Debut Fund

Vanedge Capital, a Canadian venture firm focused on interactive digital media, has closed its debut fund with nearly $100 million in capital commitments. Limited partners include BC Renaissance Capital Fund, BDC Venture Capital, Nicola Wealth Management Ltd. and Teralys Capital.