News
CAPRICORN CLEANTECH FUND INVESTS € 3.5 MILLION IN METALLKRAFT AS
Leuven, 18.12.2008 - Capricorn Venture Partners announced today its investment in Norway based Metallkraft AS, Kristiansand.
The wafer cutting process, a crucial step in the production of silicon solar modules, requires large amounts of cutting slurry. The slurry consists of abrasive silicon carbide particles and glycol, and is quickly polluted during the cutting process by silicon dust, metal particles from the saw wire and water.
The remainder of the financing is used to buy out certain shareholders, including MVM, Signet Healthcare Partners and SR One, to align the shareholder base with the company’s strategy. Avantium is pleased with the support of its existing shareholders DFJ Esprit, AlpInvest, EDB Investments, Eastman Chemical and Pfizer, who have decided to continue their support of the company and its growth ambitions.
Tom van Aken, CEO of Avantium stated:” We are delighted to secure this financing and to strengthen the shareholder base of Avantium. We are very pleased by the participation of such high-quality investors. The new investors bring very strong expertise and experience in facilitating rapidly growing technology companies in the healthcare and cleantech arena. It marks the next phase for our company and enables us to advance our product development programs. Closing this financing round of EUR 18 million in the current turmoil of the financial markets is a clear sign of the strength of the company and the commitment of our new shareholders.”
Michiel de Haan, General Partner of Aescap Venture and new member of the supervisory board of Avantium, stated: “The Avantium organization incorporates all the necessary elements to become a major Technology company. As Venture Capital investor we are proud to be able to support this company and share our experience in this entrepreneurial process. Thanks to the productive and intense interactions we had with management and the existing shareholders we were able to form the new shareholders consortium which provides the solid basis required to build Avantium into a world class company.”
