ANNUAL REPORT 2007 | 2008 - Gimv

Liquavista
www.liquavista.com
Dutch company Liquavista, a spin-off of Philips Research Labs,
has developed a revolutionary display screen technology known
as electrowetting. This refl ective screen technology, whereby the
screen is formed of microscopically small oil droplets in water, offers
two major advantages over existing screen technologies. An
electrowetting-based display consumes 90 percent less power.
Screens are also very brightly coloured, making them perfectly
legible also in strong sunlight. Liquavista screens are used for
a wide range of mobile products, including videos, telephones,
digital cameras and navigation equipment. Liquavista’s fi rst
energy-saving screens will be reaching the market in mid-2008.
The company has offi ces in Eindhoven, Cambridge and Hong
Kong. In March 2008 Gimv joined Amadeus Capital Partners
and New Venture Partners in a second fi nancing round totalling
EUR 8 million.
Mentum (ex-CTS International)
www.mentum.com
French company Mentum develops network planning, network
implementation and optimization software for mobile network
operators. The company came into being in June 2007 when
CTS International took over Ericsson’s network planning product
line. Mentum software allows mobile operators to use their existing
networks more effectively and to optimally extend their networks.
Mentum has offi ces in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Ottawa
and Dallas and customers in more than 40 countries worldwide.
The Gimv follow-on investment is part of a EUR 6.7 million third
capital round.
Metris
www.metris.com
Since being set up in 1995 as a spin-off of the Catholic University
of Leuven, Metris has grown into a world player providing total
3D quality control solutions for development and production
departments in the automotive and aircraft industries. Metris
delivers both traditional coordinates measuring equipment and
innovative optical measuring systems. Metris solutions provide
high-accuracy 3D measurement of complete vehicles (cars,
aircraft, trains, ships) and of individual components, with which
to guarantee perfect assembly. At the end of 2006 Metris was
introduced onto the stock market. In 2007 it acquired Garda,
Coord3, M-Cubed, X-Tek and the iLS (Intelligent Laser Systems)
department of Virtek. Gimv granted Metris a EUR 20 million
mezzanine loan with warrants to fi nance the acquisitions.
Telenet
www.telenet.be
See page 45.
VirtenSys
www.virtensys.com
Virtensys is a British start-up in the young and fast-growing
market of input / output virtualization. Its products are fi nding
their way into data centres and into storage and network
infrastructure markets. Virtensys was set up in 2005 and has
put together an exceptional team of experts in the fi eld of
semiconductor and systems development. The head offi ce is
in Manchester (UK) and the sales and marketing offi ces in the
USA. Gimv invested GBP 2 million in a series B fi nancing round
together with Scottish Equity Partners and Celtic House Venture
Partners. The additional resources will enable the company to
expand and shortly bring its fi rst products to market.
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