Fred Destin

Consolidation in the VC space continues, discretely but surely.  The latest is that Quester has been acquired by NewMediaSpark.    This is big news in our world as Quester is a high quality brand name and respected co-investor.  I had experienced Quester first-hand as a co-investor is OLED company Opsys (sold to Cambridge Display Technologies) and have gained a deep long-term respect for the engagement and grit of someone like Andrew Holmes.  Jamie Brooke, Henry Sallitt etc … quality people there.  This is yet another traditional UK brand name that is evolving.

If you look at the bigger trends you can see:

• continuted consolidation of regional / local funds that are seeking better scale or have trouble with either succession or track record (as happened in Germany and Scandinavia)
• emergence of strong, branded platforms a la Accel
• arrival of new US entrants e.g. Highland

Although I had known for a while that Quester was looking for creative GP solutions, I learned about the deal in an email signed John Spooner.  What struck me was the following:

• SPARK has a focus on new
  media, with a particular emphasis on digital media, software applications,
  technology and communications, which complements Quester’s own activities in
  this area. Quester’s strong healthcare business will be a platform for SPARK’s
  new focus in healthcare.

Whatever happened to tech ?

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