Sequoia IX Slated For September Close –

MENLO PARK, Calif. – Sequoia Capital was anticipating a mid-September first and final close on Sequoia IX, which, along with a side fund, would not exceed $450 million, said General Partner Douglas Leone.

The firm expected $335 million to $350 million from new and existing limited partners, some $60 million from general partners and about $50 million from a side fund that was nearing a launch at press time.

The Sequoia Capital Technology Partners Fund, which will take capital from company presidents, vice presidents and engineering managers, is seeking investors who can bring deal flow, provide assistance with technical analysis, serve on the boards of companies and help Sequoia “see the future,” Leone said.

Sequoia IX, which will continue Sequoia’s primary focus on early-stage companies, follows on the heels of the $450 million Sequoia Capital Franchise Fund, a late-stage vehicle that closed earlier this year. The Franchise Fund looks for companies on the eve of going public and has invested some $40 million in companies such as on-line grocer WebVan Group Inc.

Sequoia predominantly invests in the Silicon Valley/San Francisco Bay Area, although occasionally it invests elsewhere. The group focuses on enterprises that create and take advantage of increased bandwidth – such as software, Internet and applications companies, Leone explained.

Sequoia IX, which features a 70%/30% carried interest split and management fees that Leone characterized as standard, welcomed previous limited partners as well as a few new investors. Most Sequoia L.P.s are endowments and foundations, and the group has no state funds among its investors. Backers include the endowments of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Yale University and the University of California. Nassau Capital, the group that handles the Princeton University endowment, also invested, along with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Leone said.

Sequoia has 11 investment professionals, including its most recent addition, Venture Partner Mark Kvamme, president and founder of CKS Partners and current chairman of USWeb/CKS, Leone said.