Monday, October 20, 2008

Oregon Investment Fund Stakes Three Firms

The Oregon Investment Fund (OIF), the private equity and venture capital fund arm of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, said Monday that the firm has made investments into three different private equity and venture funds. According to the OIF, it has made a commitment to the Walden Venture Capital 2007 Fund, Riverlake Partners and Evergreen Pacific Partners, three funds investing in a variety of industries. Amount of the investments was not disclosed. OIF, which serves as a fund-of-funds investing in venture firms which invest in the Pacific Northwest and other areas, is managed by Credit Suisse. Walden's Venture Capital 2007 Fund is focused on early-stage investments in digital media, technology-enabled services and Internet commerce companies; Riverlake Partners is a Portland-based private equity firm ; and Evergreen Pacific Partners, is a Seattle-based private equity firm focused on the middle market. The OIF said that Walden has developed funds in underinvested and less competitive venture capital markets such as Asia and Israel, and that Walden hopes to follow the same model in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.