Australia's OneVentures launches $74m venture debt fund

OneVentures said the fund has received strong early interest from investors and was expected to reach a first close by November. It will make investments of up to A$5 million in about 40 established technology companies with strong revenue that are looking to grow their businesses or diversify funding sources during capital raising rounds.

"Many of our investors are overweight in the property market, often through the provision of mortgage funding to developers," Michelle Deaker, a managing partner at OneVentures, said in a statement. "They are looking for a product which has similar characteristics of a regular return and can outperform the market."

Deaker said venture debt provided start-ups a funding option that was less dilutionary on equity while offering investors a lower risk profile with regular returns. She added that because venture debt products were in their infancy in Australia, it was necessary to access experience by partnering offshore. OneVentures and Viola were introduced by the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce during a trade mission last year.

Viola Group has deployed about $800 million in more than 120 deals since 2000 and manages $3 billion across separate businesses with various focus areas including credit, venture capital, growth capital, and financial technology. It has described the OneVentures Credit Fund as its first partnership in Asia Pacific and part of an ongoing expansion effort in the region.

OneVentures closed its first fund in 2011 at A$40 million and its second fund in 2015 at A$100 million. A third fund focused on healthcare closed last year at A$170 million. The firm claims A$330 million in funds under management to date, including A$105 million managed through government programs known as the Biomedical Translation Fund and the Innovation Investment Fund.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Technology
• Credit/Special Situations
• Fundraising
• Australia
• OneVentures
• Venture