Foreword
Welcome
Established in 1999, Calibre One is a leading, international Executive Search organisation based in Europe and North America.
Calibre One specialises in building main board and senior management teams for Venture Capital and Private Equity backed software, hardware, business services, communications, cleantech and internet businesses. We work with investors in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, South Africa, and Israel.
The Calibre One Index provides a comprehensive review of early stage tech investment. It lists and compares all the investments made by tech investors in the key territories of Europe and North America on a quarterly basis. Published in London and San Francisco every January, April, July and October, the Calibre One Index is compiled by Calibre One – the world’s leading technology specialist executive search consultancy.
The Index is downloadable in PDF format from www.calibreone.com
Contents
Recent Assignments Contents Welcome Foreword
Richard Brennan and Michael Lee discuss Quarter 1
Investment Summary 4
Breakdown of Investments 5
North America
United Kingdom France DACH
BENELUX
Northern Europe Ireland
Southern Europe Eastern Europe Israel
5
14 15 16 17 17 18 18 19 19
2 3 3 3
Richard Brennan,
Partner – London
The strong end to 2009 has sparked an encouraging start to 2010 for European Investors. According to the Index the number of investments across Europe has increased from 12 months ago. This willingness to invest, albeit in smaller amounts, should herald a more positive outlook for the remainder of 2010.
The capital markets have remained steady which is an encouraging sign and research suggests that the investment community is anticipating clear growth in investment compared to 2009. The Cleantech sector, and specifically energy storage and efficiency as opposed to renewables, will see significant investment, especially in light of the support from Government led programs. It is no coincidence therefore that following this increase in activity by equity firms a noticeable demand to hire key individuals into portfolio businesses has occurred. As the market continues to improve, the strength and quality of executive teams becomes ever more crucial.
Michael Lee,
Partner – San Francisco
In the US, Q1 was an increasingly buoyant period. We have experienced a rising trend in the early-stage market; companies and venture firms mandating the hiring of a large number of critical roles. These hires invariably represent a growth-oriented hiring strategy.
M&A activity has increased and the quarter was strong for IPOs; every technology IPO in March rose above its offer price. Interestingly, the number of IPOs in Q1 exceeded the number of IPOs for all of 2009. Some public entrants, such as our client Meru Networks, had an increase of 28% above offer price. Our expectation is that this year will continue to be solid with continued early stage and growth financings. And with the number of S1s lined up, the IPO market will continue to prosper.
The Quarterly Transatlantic Tech Investment Review
Calibre One : International Executive Search
3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20