L
Capital invests $17.5m in two start-ups - The fund invested
$7.5 million in Hi-G-Tek and $10 million in Aquarius Technologies
Sources inform "Globes" that L Capital Partners,
run by general partner Jonathan Leitersdorf, has invested
$10 million in Israeli start-up Hi-G-Tek Ltd., the fund's
third investment in Israel. Battelle Ventures also participated
in the financing round. L Capital manages $165 million and
Battelle Ventures, a partner in US Department of Energy laboratories,
manages $150 million.
Hi-G-Tek develops active radio frequency ID (RFID) products
that transmit cargo data. The company's products enable the
management of goods and assets in real time. The technology's
applications include securing logistics assets, protecting
cargoes and containers, and monitoring transportation logistics.
The products make it possible to monitor the location of cargoes
and know their status in real time.
L Capital Partners principal Sarit Soccary Ben-Yochanan,
who is based in Tel Aviv, said, "Hi-G-Tek suits our investment
policy in Israeli companies, and companies in general. The
company operates in the homeland security field, one of our
investment areas, and it is known to the market and has sales.
L Capital focuses on investments in security companies that
have technologies with commercial applications."
Hi-G-Tek is believed to have doubled its sales since 2003
to $6 million this year.
L Capital Partners has also reportedly begun to invest in
Aquarius Technologies Inc., which has closed a $7.5 million
financing round. The company was founded to market patent-protected
technologies developed by Ariel-based Elif -- Environmental
Engineering Ltd. Elif has developed technologies for treating
industrial and municipal waste and for purifying water with
biological methods that do not create sludge. The treatments
do not use chemicals.
L Capital Partners led the financing round, the proceeds
of which are intended to enable Aquarius Technologies to enter
new markets, mostly in North America, and to boost product
sales. Aquarius Technologies president and CEO Tom Pokorsky,
previously served as chairman of the Wastewater Equipment
Manufactures Association when he was president of Sanitaire
(now part of ITT Corp).
Leitersdorf founded L Capital Partners in 2004. The fund
invests in high-tech companies, especially in homeland security,
life sciences, and the environment. The fund focuses on growing
companies with expanding development and initial sales. The
fund's portfolio currently includes ten companies. In addition
to Leitersdorf, the fund's main investors are Bank Leumi (TASE:
LUMI) and the US Small Business Administration (SBA).
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