The Venture Michigan Fund II is showing its support for Plymouth Management Co., commonly known as
Plymouth Venture Partners, by investing in the Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm's latest investment vehicle.
"It gives a lot of credibility to our fund," says
Jeff Barry, partner with
Plymouth Venture Partners. "It's great for our investor base."
The
Venture Michigan Fund II is a fund of funds, which means it invests in other venture capital firms. The Venture Michigan Fund II is worth $120 million and is managed by
Credit Suisse. It launched in January as a sequel to the original $96 million Venture Michigan Fund that came out in 2006.
The Venture Michigan Fund II is supported by a bank loan. If the return on investment for Venture Michigan Fund II is not adequate to pay the principal and interest on the bank loan, then the bank can sell state of Michigan tax vouchers that can be used to satisfy a Michigan tax liability. The fund's focus is on venture capital firms targeting Michigan companies seeking seed and early-stage capital. Those start-ups are in the advanced manufacturing, health care, life sciences, IT, alternative energy, homeland security, and defense sectors.
The fund made an investment in Chicago-based
MK Capital, which has an Ann Arbor office, earlier this year, along with Ann Arbor-based
Arboretum Ventures. Plymouth Venture Partners is the third investment the Venture Michigan Fund II has announced. Plymouth Venture Partners and the Venture Michigan Fund II declined to disclose the investment amount.
Plymouth Venture Partners recently finished fundraising for its
second investment vehicle, which is worth $41 million. The firm invests in second-stage firms, mainly in the Great Lakes region, that are creating scalable technologies in areas like software, medical devices, or advanced manufacturing. Its previous investments include University of Michigan spin-out
Accuri Cytometers, which was
recently acquired for more than $200 million.
Source: Jeff Barry, partner, Plymouth Management Company
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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