Asian LPs back Israel-based Viola’s $250m fund

Viola Private Equity II, which has a hard cap of $300 million, received investments from institutional investors and family offices in the US, Asia, Europe and Israel. The Asian LPs are from Hong Kong and mainland China and primarily comprise large family offices, according to a spokesperson.

The fund will invest in 10-12 growth stage technology firms in sectors such as enterprise software, e-commerce, cyber security, financial technology and healthcare. Each investment will range from $20 million to $40 million. The firm recently completed its first deal out of the fund, backing GlassesUSA.com, an e-commerce company that sells prescription eyewear US consumers.

Viola's previous fund invested in 12 companies, of which three have already been exited. These include MobileAccess, which was acquired by Corning, and Matomy Media Group, which went public on the London Stock Exchange last year.

"The Israeli tech entrepreneurs and investors have become more focused on building large significant companies. Demand for technology growth capital in Israel is growing and Viola Private Equity is well positioned to fulfil this need and partner with the most promising companies coming out of Israel," said John Morrison, managing director of Munich Private Equity Partners (MPEP), in a statement.

Founded in 2008, Viola Private Equity is a member of the Viola Group, an investment firm with more than $2 billion under management. The group also counts Carmel Ventures as its member. The VC firm recently closed its fourth fund at $194 million, with 25% of the corpus coming from Chinese investors - namely Baidu, Qihoo360 and Ping An Insurance.

In 2014, 12 Israeli venture capital funds raised $914 million between them, representing a six-year high, according to the Israel Venture Capital (IVC) research center and KPMG. Chinese investors feature prominently.

In addition to Carmel, Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) reached a first close of $160 million on its seventh fund, which has an overall target of $180 million. Chinese LPs put in about 40%, with Qihoo360 participating once again alongside fund-of-funds Shengjing. Last month, Alibaba Group invested a reported $15 million in the fund.

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