Germany-based SiC Processing, which claims a 70 per cent market share in the recycling and supply of chemicals used to produce silicon wafers, raised €53 million (£45 million) in a 2007 funding round led by Merrill Lynch and Zouk Ventures. The size of this latest deal has not been disclosed.

The company is profitable and expects sales of nearly €100 million this year.

Frog Capital, previously known as Foursome Investments, manages assets of the Engelhorn family. It has funds under management of €100 million and invests in funding rounds of between €2 million and €20 million in cleantech, IT and digital media businesses.