Atomico raises $285 million for third fund

UK investment firm Atomico Ventures has raised a $286 million fund, according to a filing with theSecurities and Exchange Commission.

The amount raised so far is $286,798,700, out of a total offering amount of $391,980,000. That leaves an additional $105,181,300 to be raised.

This is Atomico’s third fund. The firm previously raised a second fund of $165 million in March 2010.

Atomico has invested in companies in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It’s investments include women’s digital media company DECA, wireless network company Fon, designer furniture and home accessories site MyDeco, blog search engine Technorati, e-commerce payment system TrialPay, ticketing reseller company Viagogo and inbox organizer Xobni.

At least eight of the companies that Atomico invested in have either been acquired or gone public: music streaming service Last.fm, which was acquired by CBS Interactive for $280 million; social gaming networking website Playfire, which was acquired by Green Man Gaming in 2012; social media management system Seesmic, which  was purchased by Hootsuite in September; Skype, which was was bought by eBay for $3.1 billion in 2005; social and casual game developer Zattikka, which IPOed on the London AIM in 2012;  instant messaging service Heysan, which was  was acquired by Good Technology in 2009; digital media platform Kyte, which was  was acquired by Kit Digital in 2011; and consumer product operating system Power Reviews, which was acquired by Bazaarvoice for $151m in 2012.

Some of its most activity includes a $16 million investment in Russian online travel agency OneTwoTrip, which was announced just yesterday, and leading a $105 million funding round for design inspiration website Fab in July.

There is no word on what Atomico would use the money for, but this is how it describes its investment strategy on its Vator profile:

“We primarily invest in entrepreneurs working in consumer facing technology businesses in Europe. However we are open-minded and more excited by great teams executing big ideas than in specific regions, sectors and markets.

We invest in early stage ideas but can be opportunistic when we find a compelling opportunity. We like to lead our investments, but often partner with other investors to create a diversified team to support the entrepreneurs.”

London-based Atomico was founded in 2006 by CEO Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, co-founders of Skype and Kazaa, though there have been rumors of a split between the two former partners, and Friis’ name does not appear on the SEC document.

Vator reached out to Atomico to find out more about the fund, and will update if we hear more.

2012 funds

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers closed a $525 million fund In May. In April, early-stage venture capital firm First Round Capital announced that it was going to raise its fourth fund, with a target of $135 million, while Berlin-based Earlybird raised a $100 million fund. In March, Groupon investor NEA filed with the SEC to raise $2.3 billion, while DST, one of Facebook’s biggest investors, was looking to raise $1 billion.

Andreessen Horowitz secured a $1.5 billion fund in January, announcing it had raised $2.7 billion in three years. While it has only been around since 2009, Andreessen Horowitz is already a top VC firm, raking in siginificant management fees.

In June, Khosla Ventures announced a new fund for an undisclosed amount, while Madrona Venture Group closed a $300 million fund.

In August, Sequoia Capital surpassed its goal of raising $975 million for three early-stage funds, and just yesterday Nexus Venture Partners, a venture firm whose major focus is on India-based technology startups, announced Thursday that it’s raised $270 million for its third fund.

Thrive Capital closed a $150 million fund in September, and in October Trinity Ventures began targeting a $325 million fund.

In the second quarter of 2012, 38 VC firms raised a total of $5.9 billion, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

(Image source: http://www.misslopez.se/tag/andreas-ehn/)