Research in Motion (RIM), a Canada-listed company that makes the BlackBerry mobile phone, has started raising a planned $100m corporate venturing fund for China.
The China fund will be a joint venture between the $150m BlackBerry Partners Fund started two years ago with RIM as a limited partner and China Broadband Capital Partners (CBC), a venture capital firm focused on media and communications investments in China.
Kevin Talbot, co-managing partner of BlackBerry Partners Fund and managing director of RBC Venture Partner, said: "The launch of BlackBerry Partners Fund China will further extend the benefits of our partnership with Research In Motion and position us to take better advantage of attractive investments in one of the fastest growing mobile computing markets in the world."
RIM will be a large investor in the BlackBerry Partners Fund China, which is targeting $100m from North America and China-based investors by its close, expected by end-August.
The BlackBerry Partners Fund raised $150m from RIM, media provider Thomson Reuters and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and is co-managed by Canada-based venture capital firm JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.
CBC was formed in early 2006 by Edward Tian, former vice chairman and chief executive of New York and Hong Kong-listed China Netcom Group. As chairman of CBC he raised its first fund in November 2006 at $285.9m but has yet to raise its second fund, having targeted RMB1bn ($146.4m) to close by November, according to the company’s website.
Limited partners in CBC’s first fund were China Netcom, PCCW (in which China Netcom had taken a 20% stake in 2005), media company News Corporation, global advertising agency WPP, investment fund manager Citic Capital, which in February closed its second buyout fund at $925m, property developer Cheung Kong, and Chinese entrepreneurs.
John Albright, co-managing partner of BlackBerry Partners Fund and managing partner of JLA Ventures, added: "[Tian] and his team of highly experienced investors bring invaluable local experience to our global fund."
According to its website, CBC has made six media, five telecom, three internet and two technology investments since launch, including Beijing-based mobile game developer Pearl-in-Palm in October and social network MySpace China in 2008. News Corp bought MySpace in 2005 for $580m in cash.