Fonds de solidarité FTQ has officially invested $5m in the fourth fund of ULB's Theodorus, with Théo Risopoulos named as the first team member of a new Quebec office.
Quebec trade union-run investment fund Fonds de solidarité FTQ yesterday revealed it invested C$7.2m ($5m) in the fourth fund of Theodorus, the university venture arm of Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
The fund also announced Théo Risopoulos, previously a consultant at private equity and industrials-focused consultant at consulting company Roland Berger, as the first partner to join a Quebec office. The team is expected to comprised of two to three people.
News of FTQ’s contribution first emerged in De Tijd last week although the Flemish business daily gave a figure almost three times bigger.
The fund has reportedly raised $41.2m in all. In addition to FTQ, the other limited partners include state-owned investment vehicles SFPI-FPIM and GIMB, as well as BNP Paribas Fortis, a subsidiary of financial services firm BNP Paribas, holding firm Sofina and private investor Roch Doliveux.
Theodorus IV will invest in seed-stage biotech, medtech and high-tech startups from offices in Belgium and, through the new Quebec-based branch, in North American universities and other research centres, as well as consortia and incubators.
