<article><a href="http://sprucecap.com" target="_blank">Spruce Capital Partners LLC </a>and <a href="http://www.xeraya.com/" target="_blank">Xeraya Capital</a> have raised $150 million in the first close of their MLS Capital Fund II, the successor fund to the $162 million <a href="http://www.mlscf.com/" target="_blank">Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.</a></article>

<a href="http://sprucecap.com" target="_blank">Spruce Capital Partners LLC </a>and <a href="http://www.xeraya.com/" target="_blank">Xeraya Capital</a> have raised $150 million in the first close of their MLS Capital Fund II, the successor fund to the $162 million <a href="http://www.mlscf.com/" target="_blank">Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.</a>
The fund, like its predecessor fund, will be co-managed by San Francisco-based Spruce Capital and Malaysian firm Xeraya Capital, focused on investments in biogreentech companies at all stages of development.
The MLS Capital Fund II will leverage on the managers’ extensive global network to generate flow of high quality deals and accelerate the creation of value by assisting portfolio companies with expanding into target markets in Asia and the Americas, the press statement said.
The fund will also build off the managers’ experience in using venture capital to supplement the innovation-pursuits of multinational corporations. The limited partners in the fund are both institutional and global corporate investors.
The principals of Spruce Capital bring to the table their experience from the industrial, financial, and academic sectors which will dovetail with that of Xeraya Capital’s comprehensive in-region expertise.
For 2015, the managers intend to focus on expanding the available capital pool and investing in a select group of entrepreneurial entities that meet their investment criteria.
“We will focus on unmet and under-served market needs in the biogreentech space,” co-managing partner of MLS Capital Fund II and managing partner of Spruce Capital Dr Ganesh Kishore said.
“We will seek out globally competitive technologies with large market potential, and hungry entrepreneurial teams embracing business models that capture a fair share of the value, while addressing global societal needs in food and energy security, an aging population, and sustainability.”
Managing partner of Sprue Capital Roger Wyse said the use of biological processes to improve health, agriculture and industrial processes has given rise to a new bioeconomy, “we believe there are significant opportunities with the potential to generate superior returns in these areas and improve productivity, sustainability, quality and affordability”.
Xeraya CEO Fares Zahir added that the MLS Capital Fund II will build upon the accomplishments of the first fund, which currently has 12 investee companies in its portfolio.
The biogreentech sector includes plant and animal agriculture, food, feed and nutrition, bio-renewable chemicals and materials, and adjacent opportunities along the value chain such as big data analytics, robotics, production, harvesting and use of natural resources and synthetic biology.
The fund will have office spaces in San Francisco and Kuala Lumpur.
Spruce Capital’s principals and founders are Kishore, Wyse and Greg Young who are known investors and thought leaders in the biogreentech sector. Spruce Capital was set up for managing venture funds and developing new talent for the industry and promote innovation in companies and countries, especially in Malaysia and United States.
Xeraya Capital is a Malaysian venture capital and private equity firm focused exclusively on life sciences investments.Its investments span US, Europe and Asia, with multiple pools of funds each with its own objectives aside from the life sciences funds. The firm was formed under <a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=Khazanah+Nasional+Bhd" target="_blank">Khazanah Nasional Bhd</a>, a state investment firm.

Spruce, Xeraya raise $150m in 2nd MLSCF

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Spruce, Xeraya raise $150m in 2nd MLSCF

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