Company History
Excalibur was founded in 1996 as a fund advisory firm that specialised in equity investments in European life science companies under the Merlin brand.
Excalibur’s conceptual foundation was the combination of science and entrepreneurship in human medicines. The Firm’s principal founder, Sir Christopher Evans, is the European biotechnology entrepreneur who founded Chiroscience (now merged with Celltech), Celsis, and Enzymatix. Sir Christopher’s companies returned hundreds of millions of dollars to the private equity investors who backed them.
Excalibur's philosophy is to be an active investor and supporter of its portfolio companies.
In 1997, Excalibur established its first investment partnership to provide seed capital for U.K. based biotechnology companies. The companies have since matured into some of the leading private biotechnology firms in Europe. In 2000, Excalibur began investing in more developed companies throughout Europe through its second fund. Today, Excalibur manages and advises three investment partnerships with total capital in excess of €450 million. The Firm has made 34 equity investments.
Excalibur is one of the largest investors in the European bioscience market and has raised more then €1bn in syndicated finance for its portfolio companies.
Investment Approach
Consistent with its entrepreneurial and scientific approach, Excalibur is an active investor in and partner to its portfolio companies. Excalibur normally has a seat on each company board and likes to play a leading role in financing and other strategic events. The Excalibur team blends science, finance and commercial expertise in human healthcare.
Merlin Biosciences Fund III (Fund III)
The €139 Merlin Biosciences Fund III is a pan-European medical sciences fund, with an intended hold period for equity investments of three to five years. Fund III makes investments of up to €15 million in life science companies developing human healthcare products. The Fund has made 10 investments.
Merlin Biosciences Fund (Fund II)
The €247 million Merlin Biosciences Fund is one of the largest dedicated biotechnology venture capital funds in Europe. Its objective is pan-European investing in mid-stage and late-stage biotechnology companies, with a bias toward marketable drugs. Its intended hold period for each investment is four to five years. Fund II closed for subscription in August 2000 and is fully committed. It has a portfolio of 21 biotechnology companies and 2 medical device companies. Its average equity investment is €8-€10 million in each company. 49% of Fund II’s investments are in U.K. companies and 51% are in European and U.S. companies.
Merlin Fund (Fund I)
Excalibur raised the €62 million Merlin Fund in 1997. Fund I was the first major seed fund for U.K. biotechnology companies, with a planned hold period for each equity investment of five to seven years. Fund I is fully committed; 88% of its investments are in biotechnology and 12% are in medical devices. The portfolio includes 8 companies with equity investments of €8-€10 million in each. Its biotechnology investments are in therapeutics companies (70%) and enabling technology companies (30%).
