Archway 2 has acquired a minority stake in a local IT company NCrypt Systems and says it has R200 million in its coffers for further investments.
NCrypt is developing a platform for application building technology, network communications and security technologies. This network technology enables transparent inter-network communication.
Leonard Bruhns, general manager of Archway Venture Partners, says Archway would be investing around R3 million in NCrypt over the next year.
"Robin Lavoipierre founded NCrypt in Cape Town in 1998 and we have been impressed, not only with NCrypt`s technologies which are at the cutting edge of an exciting area of software development but also by management`s passion and commitment."
Bruhns went on to say the acquisition was the first for Archway 2, a new fund set up by the venture capitalists that sees the same investors as Archway 1. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has invested R75 million in the new fund. The remaining investors include Dimension Data, Gensec NSA and Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank.
Bruhns says Archway 2 has around R200 million in the fund and the market can expect more acquisition announcements in the next three to four weeks of between R3 million and R10 million per investment.
The fund will be looking at between 15 and 20 companies to invest in, from young companies to more mature companies with a proven track record.
Despite market sentiment, Bruhns says there are a number of attractive offers around and the hammering the IT sector has experienced means there are some very attractive companies available at very competitive prices.
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