Van den Ende and Deitmers establish Venture Capital Firm

Joop van den Ende and Hubert Deitmers have announced the formation of their joint company, Van den Ende & Deitmers B.V. The company is a venture capital firm. Both shareholders have a 50% interest in the company. The new company will invest substantially in West European companies that are not listed on the stock exchange. The new company has introduced two investment funds, the Van den Ende & Deitmers CROSSMEDIA FUND and the Van den Ende & Deitmers CROSSBORDER FUND. A total of € 150 million will be invested in the growth and international expansion of a number of companies still to be determined.

The Crossmedia Fund will focus on investments in press, Internet, telecommunications and technology companies with ambitious growth plans. The Crossborder Fund will invest in established companies that have proven themselves in their home market and have international expansion potential. In addition to capital, the Van den Ende & Deitmers venture capital firm will make international networks, experience in international expansion and active supervision available to the companies in this fund. The two new funds will acquire an interest in twenty to twenty-five companies in the next five years. Crossmedia Fund Van den Ende & Deitmers sees strong opportunities within the small and middlesized enterprise segment for venture capital within the Netherlands. In contrast to the private equity market for major buy-outs, the service of this segment is minimal. Dutch venture capital funds have hardly made any risk capital available for media, Internet, telecommunications and technology companies. The Van den Ende & Deitmers Crossmedia Fund will fill this market niche and will play an active role in the expansion of promising companies in the industry by providing capital.

Crossborder Fund
The Van den Ende & Deitmers Crossborder Fund will be active in the middle-sized enterprise segment, assisting companies which, independent of the industry in which they operate, have proven their position in the home market and have international expansion potential. The companies involved will be companies of experienced entrepreneurs who are looking for venture capital for international expansion. Hubert Deitmers: “We like to be involved in the international expansion of successful enterprises and we very much like to share our international experience with such entrepreneurs.” Joop van den Ende: “Passion plays an important part alongside entrepreneurship in the expansion of my own companies. I am convinced that this combination can mean an enormous impulse for the companies in which we will invest. I am looking forward to the renewed cooperation with a colleague from the Endemol period.” Hubert Deitmers was successful when working at Atlas Venture, a venture capital firm. In 1996 he came to Endemol where he was responsible for the international roll ut through take-overs and participations. He was a member of the Endemol Board of Directors until the beginning of 2005. Joop van den Ende, together with John de Mol, established Endemol in 1993. He is owner/founder of Stage Entertainment (www.stage-entertainment.com). In 2001 he established the VandenEnde Foundation www.vandenendefoundation.nl) with his wife, Janine. Since 2005 he is also active in the real estate sector through the Living City Property Projects enterprise.