Spark Closes Second Fund At $360M
Press Release, July 18, 2007
By Ty McMahan
Raising $100 million more than it did for its debut fund, Spark Capital has closed its second fund, Spark II, a vehicle focused on investments related to the conflux of the media, entertainment and technology industries, at $360 million.
General Partner Todd Dagres said about 30% of Spark I remains and that the firm plans to do about five more deals by the end of the year before it begins deploying Spark II.
The firm has made 14 investments through Spark I and expects to close two more investments within the next 30 days, Dagres said.
The Spark I portfolio of companies shows the firm’s approach to investing in companies that run the gamut from media and entertainment to technology. Investments have included direct-to-consumer services such as Internet broadcast company Next New Networks Inc.; URL networking exchange Me.dium Inc.; and online video company Veoh Networks Inc.; and infrastructure companies like optical networks company Menara Inc.
“The focus for the new fund will be the same,” Dagres said. “We think the whole idea of the conflux of technology, media and entertainment coming together is a long-term trend.”
The Boston-based firm has already experienced one successful exit through the first fund with thePlatform, a digital media publishing platform purchased by Comcast Corp. for more than $100 million.
Spark will remain geographically diverse in its investments with an emphasis on early-stage investing opportunities. But, 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, Dagres said.
While most investments will be U.S.-based, Dagres said the firm will likely pursue a few deals in Western Europe.
All of Spark I’s limited partners also participate in Spark II. Additionally, a small number of new investors were admitted to Spark II including one of the nation’s largest university endowments and a major private foundation, Dagres said.
Backers of the firm’s first fund, which closed at $260 million in 2005, include AlpInvest Partners, Adveq, FLAG Capital Management, Grove Street Advisors, Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Trust, Performance Equity Management LLC and Spur Capital Partners LLC.
General partners Paul Conway, Dagres and Santo Politi co-founded Spark Capital in 2005. Before launching Spark, Conway and Politi built careers at Waltham, Mass.-based VC firm Charles River Ventures, as chief financial officer and general partner, respectively. Dagres was a general partner at Battery Ventures LLC.
Spark Capital’s investment team also includes general partners Dennis A. Miller and Bijan Sabet, Principal Alex Finkelstein and Senior Associates Scott Borenstein and Robert Go.
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