3i has been investing in electronics and semiconductor businesses since the mid 1980s when we were an early investor in LSI logic.  Over the last five years, we’ve made more than 65 investments and our current portfolio is worth over $250m.  In Europe, we invest at all funding stages, from start-ups to buyouts.  We also have a long track record of early-stage investments in the US, and a growing appetite for providing growth capital to well-established companies in the US and Asia.

Many of the businesses we’ve partnered have emerged as leaders in their fields and gone on to become successful listed companies:

• We began working with e2v Technologies in 2002, when it was spun out from Marconi.  The business was at the leading edge of electro-optical microwave devices and radio frequency power products but the market did not fully understand its potential.  We worked with the management team to implement operational improvements and improve the external presentation of the business.  By the time e2v floated in 2004, its profits had risen by 40%.
• Since its launch in 1993, GST Holdings has achieved a 20% share of the market for fire alarm systems in China.  We began working with the business in 2004, when it was seeking an international investor to support preparations for an IPO.  We helped the company recruit an independent director and a CFO, and ensured that corporate governance met international standards.  GST successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005.
• Based in the UK, with a significant presence in Asia, UbiNetics is one of the world’s leading suppliers of 3G mobile communications technology.  During the 18 months we supported the company, we helped it find partners that would support the development and launch of its two product lines.  Its test and measurement activities were sold to Aeroflex, while its handset IP business made an excellent acquisition for another 3i-backed company, CSR.