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Baird Closes Third VC Fund
New Baird fund surpasses $150 million target.
August 18, 2008
Baird Venture Partners, the Chicago venture capital investment arm of Milwaukee investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co., said Monday that it has closed on more than $170 million for its third venture fund.
The venture fund, which is overseen by R.W. Baird’s Baird Private Equity group, surpassed its $150 million target. Institutions, foundations and family offices including the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Lurie Investments, A.O. Smith Retirement Plan, Northwestern Mutual and Marshall & Ilsley Corp. were investors in the fund. In addition, a host of new investors such as American Family Insurance, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Sentry Insurance and the State of Illinois Treasurer’s Office of Technology Development Account also joined as limited partners.
”Our strict sector focus and our global platform are key advantages in sourcing investment opportunities,” said Devin Mathews, a partner at Baird Venture Partners, in a statement. “By partnering with experienced executives, such as in our first BVP III investment in LatinVest [Investment Company II], we are able to source investments that few other firms see.”
Baird Venture’s strategy is to invest up to $10 million in early- and expansion-stage businesses involved in business services or life sciences.
The fund has already put capital to work in two investments: LatinVest, an Atlanta-based transaction processing company and provider of wire transfer services. LatinVest chief executive Mario Trujillo has been a member of Baird Venture’s advisory board since 2005.
Separately, the firm has made an investment in InsideTrack, a San Francisco-based student coaching services business aimed at colleges and universities.
Thomas Capital Group served as a placement agent for the venture capital fund.
In the last 18 months Baird Venture has sponsored several realizations for its portfolio companies. Its liquidity events include taking Hire Right public in August 2007 for $66 million, the same month the venture unit sold NimbleGen Systems for $272.5 million to pharmaceutical and diagnostics company F. Hoffmann-La Roche.
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