Sofinnova

Sofinnova is the marketing name used by two formerly-related early-stage venture capital firms tracing their roots to Sofinnova SA, founded in 1972. The two firms, which combined have raised over $2.2 billion of capital since inception, share the same investment strategy of investing in seed and start-up companies in the information technology and life sciences sectors.

The two sister firms, which distinguish themselves on the basis of their target geographies, have been independent of each other since 1997.

• Sofinnova Ventures, with offices in San Francisco, Menlo Park, and San Diego, focuses on US investments
• Sofinnova Partners, headquartered in Paris, focuses on European investments

The two firms have historically shared a number of common investors in their respective funds. More than a decade after their separation, the two firms continue to work together to exchange information and share contacts in each other's respective geography. While there is no obligation to show each other deals or to co-invest together, the two teams exchange a small portion of carried interest, which does reinforce the conenction between the two firms.

Sofinnova Ventures (US)

Sofinnova Ventures is an independent venture capital firm based in San Francisco with approximately $1 billion of capital under management.

Investments

In the 1980s Sofinnova was highly ACTIVE in some of the most well known venture investments of the period. Sofinnova invested in companies including Collagen Aesthetics, Biogen, Genentech, Tandon, Tandem Computers and Printonix. Many of these companies which Sofinnova funded as start-ups have developed into large international companies. More recently, Sofinnova has backed companies including Kosan Biosciences.

Since inception,

• 1984 - $6m - Sofinnova Venture Partners I
• 1991 - $20m - Sofinnova Venture Partners II
• 1994 - $31m - Sofinnova Venture Partners III
• 1998 - $70m - Sofinnova Venture Partners IV (first independent fund)
• 2000 - $210m - Sofinnova Venture Partners V
• 2003 - $250m - Sofinnova Venture Partners VI (Early Stage)
• 2006 - $375m - Sofinnova Venture Partners VII (Early Stage)

Source: Private Equity Intelligence

Sofinnova Partners (France)

Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris with approximately €1.2 billion of capital. The firm invests in early stage companies and corporate spin-offs, in the technology and life sciences spaces:

Sofinnova has financed more than 460 companies in Europe since inception 1972 of which more than 20% have successfully completed an initial public offering and more than 20% have been acquired by strategic buyers.

Investments

Following the separation of the two firms, Sofinnova Partners completed fundraising for its third private equity fund, Sofinnova Capital III with €121 million of capital. Among the investments in this fund are Innate, Maximiles and NovusPharma. Sofinnova's fourth fund which raised €330 million of capital made Sofinnova one of the largest venture firms in Europe at the time.

Sofinnova closed its fifth fund with €385 million in 2005. That same year, in 2005, Sofinnova was named “Fund of the Year” by Private Equity International and “VC Techno House of the Year 2005” by the European Venture Capital Journal (EVCJ) which described Sofinnova's fundraising as the “Fundraising of the Year 2005”. This fund has invested in a number of companies including Taptu.

• 1989 - €38m - Sofinnova Capital I
• 1994 - €47m - Sofinnova Capital II
• 1998 - €121m - Sofinnova Capital III(first independent fund)
• 2001 - €330m - Sofinnova Capital IV
• 2005 - €385m - Sofinnova Capital V
• 2008 - €260m - Sofinnova Capital VI

Source: Private Equity Intelligence

History

Founding

Sofinnova was founded in 1972 with the backing of several French financial institutions (most notably Crédit National) and was notable at the time for creating the first "American style" venture capital firm in France. Peter Brook, the founder of TA Associates, was a board member of Sofinnova SA in its early years. Sofinnova SA quickly established a presence in the European market through the formation of the Sofinnova Partners venture firm in Paris. Sofinnova SA owned this firm from 1972 until its spin-off in 1997.

In 1974, Sofinnova became the first European venture company to enter the US market launching its US affiliate, Sofinnova, Inc. Sofinnova co-founder, Jean Deleage, who would later co-found US venture firm Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co., was appointed the head of the US operation. Sofinnova's US business gained attention for its role as an early backer of Tandem Computers and Genentech in the early 1980s.

In 1976 Sofinnova co-founder Jean Deleage established an American subsidiary, Sofinnova, Inc., in San Francisco. Deleage would ultimately leave Sofinnova in 1979 to co-found US-based venture capital firm Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co.. In 1981, working with Deleage, Sofinnova developed a partnership with Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co. and ultimately other US firms. Jean-Bernard Schmidt, who would ultimately serve as chairman of Sofinnova, was named the head of US operations of Sofinnova, Inc.

Sofinnova in the 1980s

In 1985 Sofinnova completed an initial public offering with a listing on the Paris Stock Exchange.

In 1987, Alain Azan moved to San Francisco to take over management of the US business, replacing Jean-Bernard Schmidt. Schmidt would be named chairman of Sofinnova, retaining that position through 2007. In the US, the firm completed fundraising for Sofinnova Venture Partners I, which was an private equity fund originally intended to invest in European companies expanding in the US. Ultimately, Sofinnova venture Partners would shift its focus toward investments in domestic US companies.

Two years later in 1989 Sofinnova would complete fundraising for Sofinnova Capital, its first private equity fund in France, with €38 million of investor commitments. Sofinnova's investments in this fund include Genset Corporation as well as Cerep, Egide and Flamel. The Paris team raised a second fund with €47 million of capital five years later in 1994. Among the companies in that portfolio were Actelion, Nicox, VistaPrint, Parrot, Multimania and Exonhit.

Sofinnova in the 1990s and Restructuring

In 1993 Sofinnova delisted itself from the Paris exchange and determined to raise capital privately through traditional private equity funds. From 1987 through the 1997 separation of Sofinnova, the US affiliate raised three funds with $57 million of investor commitments and the French affiliate completed fundraising for an additional two funds with approximately €85 million of commitments.

In 1997, the global Sofinnova organization restructured. The firm separated on the basis of geography, creating two independent management companies Sofinnova Ventures in the US and Sofinnova Partners in Europe. Following a management buyout, each of the management companies was owned by its respective management teams.

References

• Done Deals: Venture Capitalists Tell Their Stories‎, 2000. p. 249-250
• The New Venturers: Inside the High-stakes World of Venture Capital‎, 1985. p. 117
• Sofinnova SA Public Repurchase offering ( French)

Sofinnova Ventures

• Sofinnova Ventures. Business Week Profile.
• DISTILLATIONS, University of Toronto
• Sofinnova's Window on Early-Stage Technology in Europe
• HelloSoft Closes $11 Million in Financing Led by Venrock Associates And Sofinnova Ventures

Sofinnova Partners

• Sofinnova - company history
• Accent to Expand with Investment from Sofinnova Partners
• Avaki Closes $4.2 Million Financing; Investments From Polaris, General Catalyst and Sofinnova Bring Avaki's Total Funding to Over $20 Million
• French VC Sofinnova invests in two biotech firms
• Sofinnova Partners Presentation

External links

• Sofinnova Ventures (US) - company website
• Sofinnova Partners (France) - company website