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Orange and Publicis create VC fund
13 March 2012
France Telecom Orange and advertising agency to invest €150 million in venture capital in digital economy
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France Telecom
Orange
Publicis
venture capital
OP Ventures
Iris
France Telecom-Orange and French media and publicity group Publicis will invest €150 million to form a European venture capital (VC) investor targeting the digital economy, in partnership with Iris Capital Management.
Iris’s management will retain 51% controlling stake in the new fund, OP Ventures, while France Telecom-Orange and Publicis will each gain a 24.5% interest.
Antoine Garrigues and Pierre de Fouquet will keep running Iris, while Publicis chairman and CEO Maurice Lévy will chair the supervisory board, and France Telecom-Orange deputy-CEO Gervais Pellissier will serve as deputy chairman.
Maurice Lévy, chairman and CEO of Publicis, said: “We've been keen to set up OP Ventures on strong foundations, and we've decided to partner with Iris because of the depth of their knowledge and their successful track record.â€
Iris already has funding commitments from investors such as the European Investment Fund and CDC Entreprises, which takes the overall investment capacity to more than €300 million. GTB
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