Patricof Seals $1.1B, Hires Schell as GP –

NEW YORK – Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc. in July closed on the $1.1 billion Apax Excelcior VI, and hired General Partner Theodore Schell, former senior vice president for strategy and corporate development at Sprint Corp., said Salem Shuchman, a general partner at the firm.

The fund, which launched in the spring, exceeded its $750 million target, Shuchman said. It will back between 40 and 50 companies in the information technology, telecom, health-care, business-to-business e-commerce, consumer and retail spaces. The fund will invest across all stages, with investments ranging between $5 million and $100 million in each portfolio company. At press time, the fund had made two investments, totaling $30 million, Shuchman said.

The firm’s previous vehicle, the $410 million APA Excelsior V, which made its first investment in October 1998, is completely committed to 33 companies. The firm decided to grow a larger fund so it can continue to support its portfolio companies through additional, larger rounds, Shuchman said.

The firm’s limited partners include public and corporate institutional investors in the U.S., Europe and Asia. LPs include the pension funds of ABP, Bell Atlantic Asset Management, New York State Common Retirement Fund, J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Denver Public School Employees’ Pension & Benefit Association, New Hampshire Retirement System, Benefit Capital Management Corp., KeySpan Energy Corp., State of Michigan Retirement System, Swarthmore College, West Midlands Superannuation Fund, Norinchukin, Nationwide Insurance Group, Novell Inc., TIAA-Cref, PSE&G Co. Inc., Tokio Marine & Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. and Vassar College.

Expanding the Team

Over the past few months, Patricof added to its investment team, expanding its depth of experience in the firm’s IT, telecommunications and B-to-B e-commerce spaces. Schell, the most recent addition, will specialize in IT, telecommunications and Internet applications, he said. The firm found Schell’s knowledge and forward-looking understanding of the markets attractive, Shuchman said.

After an 11-year tenure at Sprint, Schell felt it was time for a change professionally and personally, he said. The new general partner selected Patricof because of its length of time in the business, its track record, its eclectic portfolio and its mature group of investors. “It’s about learning new things and being at a place where I can do that,” Schell said.

Before Sprint, Schell founded Realcom Communications Corp., a unit of IBM, of which he was president and chief executive officer. His experience also includes a term as counselor and chief of staff to the Secretary of Commerce during the Carter Administration and director of the Presidential Review titled “Technological Innovation and U.S. Competitiveness.”

Schell, based in the New York office, joins a team of 11 general partners: Gregory Case, Robert Chefitz, Janet Effland, Thomas Hirschfeld, George Jenkins, David Landau, Alan Patricof, George Phipps, Lori Rafield, Paul Vais, and Shuchman.

Patricof & Co.’s more than 130 investment professionals are spread throughout the firm’s offices in New York, Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Calif., London, Leeds, England, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Tel-Aviv, Tokyo and Zurich.