Spark Capital Closes its Second Fund at $360 Million
Press Release, July 17, 2007
Spark Capital Closes its Second Fund at $360 Million
BOSTON, Mass. (July 17, 2007) – Spark Capital today announced the closing of its second fund, Spark II. Building on the success of Spark I, the $360 million fund will continue the firm’s focus on the expanding investment opportunities arising from the conflux of the media, entertainment and technology industries. This new fund brings the firm’s total capital under management to $622 million.
“Since our founding two years ago, we’ve seen the prophecy of the conflux materialize,” said Todd Dagres, General Partner, Spark Capital. “With the new fund, we’ll expand our efforts to capitalize on the massive wave of convergence and the worldwide explosion of on-line applications, media and content.”
The Spark I portfolio of companies illustrates the firm’s approach to investing in the entire “food chain” involved in the conflux of media, entertainment and technology. These investments have included direct-to-consumer services (such as Next New Networks, Me.dium and Veoh) as well as infrastructure companies (such as Menara and VeriVue). Spark will remain geographically diverse in its investments with an emphasis on early-stage investing opportunities. However, with $360 million in new funds, Spark now has the capacity to extend deal size and stage of investment, opening up a broader array of investment opportunities.
“With Spark II, we’ll continue to invest in the most talented entrepreneurs pursing the biggest ideas,” said Santo Politi, General Partner, Spark Capital. “This approach will be a mainstay of our investing strategy – yet now we have even greater resources to pursue select later-stage investments that can benefit from our extensive experience, contacts and resources in the media, technology and entertainment industries.”
Spark II was well oversubscribed with all Spark I Limited Partners returning to participate. Additionally, a small number of new investors were admitted to Spark II including one of the nation’s largest university endowments as well as a major private foundation.
About Spark Capital
Spark Capital is a venture capital fund focused on building businesses that transform the distribution, management and monetization of media and content. Spark’s General Partners are successful natives of the media and technology industries and have proven track records identifying and actively building market-leading companies in sectors including infrastructure (Qtera, RiverDelta, Aether Systems, Broadbus and BigBand), networks (College Sports Television, TVONE and XCOM) and services (Akamai and the Platform). With a deep network that spans technology and media, investing and operations, Spark Capital provides world-class entrepreneurs and revolutionary companies with the resources to succeed in today’s marketplace. Spark Capital has $622 million under management, and is based on Boston, Mass. To learn more, visit www.sparkcapital.com.
Press Contact:
Beth Monaghan
InkHouse
P: 617-264-0420
beth@inkhousepr.com
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