Forbion closes oversubscribed fourth life sciences VC fund at EUR 360 million

Forbion, a leading European life science venture capital firm, announced the final close of its new flagship fund, Forbion IV. The fund closed above its original target at EUR 360 million and was significantly oversubscribed.

Forbion IV, like its predecessor fund, Forbion III, will primarily focus on opportunities in the EU including the UK, with the remainder of the fund targeting opportunities mainly in North America.

Forbion’s fourth fund will focus on biopharma investments, building on its track record of creating high-return, high-impact businesses, built around exciting new science, proven management teams or assets sourced from the pharmaceutical industry.

Forbion IV will target substantial initial stakes, looking to take lead positions and work alongside entrepreneurial management teams to deliver exceptional financial and societal returns. Forbion has already had considerable success with this strategy via its first three funds, with the EUR 183 million Forbion III already delivering 4 exits including the sale of Rigontec to MSD and the highly successful IPO of Replimune on NASDAQ in July 2018.

The fund, managed by one of Europe’s most experienced, specialised life sciences investment teams, will build a portfolio of approximately fifteen companies, of which five will be new companies (co)founded by Forbion, so-called “build” opportunities, and ten will be existing, “growth” companies.

Sander Slootweg, Managing Partner and co-founder of Forbion, commented: 
“The successful final close for our fourth fund at EUR360m, effectively doubling the size of our third fund, unlocks the potential for higher deal sizes for Forbion IV, giving us the flexibility to choose between stand-alone and syndicated investments.

“We are seeing clear opportunities for superior returns in European development-stage life sciences companies, a non-cyclical sector marked by an undersupply of investment capital.

“Forbion IV attracted both new and existing blue-chip investors. New investors include UK based Pantheon, Dutch institutions ASR Insurances and the TNO Pension Fund, Nordic investors Formuesforvaltning and KLP, and some undisclosed North American institutional investors. Existing LPs European Investment Fund and development bank KfW also returned in the new fund. We look forward to working alongside all our Fund IV investors at what is an exceptionally exciting time for our business.”

Robbert van de Griendt, General Partner and Head of Investor Relations and Impact at Forbion, commented:
“The successful fundraise for Forbion IV is testament to the investor appetite for our specialist investment strategy and to our team’s unrivalled experience and long standing track record in European life sciences investing.

“We’re delighted to welcome back returning LPs and extend a warm welcome to new investors in Forbion IV. We are actively working on a number of Fund IV investments and look forward to putting capital to work across an exciting pipeline”

Source: Forbion