Longtime clean technology investor RockPort Capital Partners closed its third fund at $450 million to target more of the same mix of energy and environmental deals the firm has specialized in for a decade.
The new fund is scaled up dramatically from RockPort's previous 2006 fund of $261 million, and general partner Janet James (pictured) said the firm will adjust by bringing on additional management and increasing deal size, but she said it capped the size of the fund despite an oversubscription of investors. Prior to launching its first fund, RockPort operated as a boutique merchant bank in the cleantech area, and raised a dedicated fund to show investors it had some skin in the game.
James said that investors are attracted to the firm's singular focus, and she said the firm encountered many LPs that are specifically beefing up allocations in cleantech. Even the process of raising the fund was environmentally friendly, she added.
"We had a very high percentage of returning investors, and we never went out on a road show," Burrows said. "This had the lowest carbon footprint of any fund ever raised."
RockPort is one of a handful of firms including Nth Power, NGEN Partners and Khosla Ventures that specializes in clean technology, and the firm has seen a boom in dealflow as traditional generalist funds have jumped on the bandwagon the last few years. James said RockPort invested its second fund much quicker than expected after nursing its first fund of $125 million from 2001 to 2005.
Although the rapid ramp in funding of cleanteach companies may be starting to level off, soaring oil prices and potential added government support of alternative energy development are likely to mean continued increases in dealflow.
"Like the [National Venture Capital Association], what we are hearing from investors is that they believe cleantech is now the third leg of the venture capital industry," James said. "And while we hope they look at us as a VC firm that happens to invest in cleantech, not as a cleantech fund, there is added value to a team that works just in this space." - Clifford Carlsen
See June 5 press release from RockPort Capital Partners
See April 9 post from Tech Confidential
Continue reading below
