Virgin’s Green Fund Gets $199M

We swoon over Sir Richard Branson. /swoon. The billionaire ‘British adventurer’ (that term again!) pledged to invest $3 billion in alternative energy projects over a decade back in September ’06, and he’s pulled in his first round of funding to the tune of $199 million. He set up the Virgin Green Fund (VGF) as a way to make investments in renewable energy and resource efficiency.

From the Financial Times:

VGF has raised $199m from Virgin and institutional investors in its first close, according to a filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission. The fundraising followed a global roadshow and a second round of investment, targeting a similar size of funds, is expected. Virgin has a minority stake in the VGF management company.

The presence of a UK local authority pension fund among VGF’s investors comes as British pension funds are allocating an increasing proportion of their assets to so-called alternative investments.

VGF is close to finalising a deal worth more than $40m to buy DuraTherm, a Texas-based petroleum and metal recycling business, from its founding shareholders. The transaction would mark a rare leveraged buy-out for the clean technology sector.

It’s so refreshing to see sickeningly rich people use their money and power to do something good for the world, instead of just building a ridiculous collection of yachts and automobiles.

Link [Financial Times]
Photo credit: David Yellen