Jun 28, 2006
Radnor, Pennsylvania and Menlo Park, California, USA ---Element Partners, a private equity fund formed to invest in clean technology companies, has closed with a total of $284 million in capital commitments from a broad range of leading institutional investors. Lehman Brothers Private Fund Marketing Group served as exclusive global placement agent for the Fund.
Element Partners invests in companies bringing cost effective solutions to environmental and resource constraints in energy, water and other large industrial and commercial markets. The Fund has already invested in four companies: CoalTek, Inc., a developer of clean coal technology; Fat Spaniel Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of critical IT infrastructure for distributed power generation specializing in renewable energy technologies; Miartech, Inc., a mixed-signal fabless semiconductor design company initially focusing on the power line communications market; and EcoSMART Technologies, Inc., which has developed a line of breakthrough products in the organic pesticide markets.
Element Partners had an initial target of $150 million. The Fund was well oversubscribed with a final closing of $284 million. “There is an enormous investment potential in the growing number of companies bringing innovation and technology solutions to global environmental issues,” said David Lincoln, managing partner of the Fund. “As the commercial importance of these issues is increasingly coming to light, institutional investors are recognizing the opportunity to participate in the rapid growth of the clean technology industry.”
“Our clients are increasingly interested in the emerging cleantech markets and we are delighted with the results we were able to produce for Element Partners,” said Christopher Kirsten, managing director of Lehman Brothers and Head of Private Fund Marketing. “The quality of this team and their track record garnered tremendous interest in the Fund from the limited partner community. Accordingly we lifted the original cap to accommodate the demand.”
Element Partners was formed by a group of well-known industry investors who previously worked with leading venture capital firms, Advent International and EnerTech Capital Partners. Collectively, the team has managed four prior venture capital funds and has a track record of success investing in clean technology companies since 1995.
Element has offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania and Menlo Park, California
About Element Partners
Element Partners is a leading private equity fund focused on clean technology. The Fund invests in cost effective companies bringing innovative solutions to environmental and resource constraints in energy, water and other large industrial and commercial markets.
About Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers (ticker symbol: LEH), an innovator in global finance, serves the financial needs of corporations, governments and municipalities, institutional clients and high net worth individuals worldwide. For further information about Lehman Brothers’ services, products and recruitment opportunities, visit the Firm’s Web site at www.lehman.com.
