Bessemer Venture Partners closed its seventh fund since it began enumerating them in 1981 and opened the fund up to about ten new limited partners for the first time. Founded in 1911, Bessemer has historically invested capital provided by a single limited partner, Bessemer Securities Corp., controlled by the descendants of Carnegie Steel stakeholder Henry Phipps.

Rob Chandra, a Bessemer general partner, told The Deal's Paul Bonanos that the fund was oversubscribed by two and a half times its eventual size. He added that $350 million of the $1 billion fund is earmarked for later stage investments in India.

Two of Bessemer's largest exits of the past few years were voice-over-Internet-protocol service Skype Technologies , which was acquired by eBay for 2.6 billion, and Celtel International, a sub-Saharan wireless carrier that was acquired by Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. for $3.3 billion in 2005.

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The Deal
David Cowen

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