Venture debt provider Kreos Capital plans to invest €500 million in fast-growing companies over the next two years after signing up five new investors.

Venture debt provider Kreos Capital plans to invest €500 million (£440 million) in fast-growing companies over the next two years after signing up five new investors.

Paul Capital, AIG PineStar Capital, HarbourVest Partners, Access Capital Partners and SVB Financial Group have all committed undisclosed sums to Kreos’s third fund. The investments follow an injection of €150 million of syndicated cash from the firm’s principal founding investor Merrill Lynch, which remains the largest shareholder in Kreos III.

Roman Kogan, a director at Merrill Lynch, comments, ‘Despite challenging market conditions Kreos and Merrill Lynch were able to successfully accomplish our strategic objective of diversifying Kreos III’s investor base.’

Founded in 1998, Kreos invests alongside venture capital firms, providing debt to early-stage, high-risk companies. It launched its third fund in January 2007, which has committed €330 million to more than 80 companies.