Hamburg, Munich, and Menlo Park, Calif., (October 12, 2005). Within a two-week period, Earlybird Venture Capital, one of Europe’s leading early stage venture capital firms, listed three portfolio companies on the stock exchange. On September 29, 2005, Interhyp (Munich) and Esmertec (Zurich) were first quoted on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Zurich, respectively. Tipp24 (Hamburg) followed on October 12, 2005, on the Frankfurt stock exchange. This development underlines the growing maturity of the European early stage venture capital industry; and with it, the favourable development of the German venture capital environment.

During the last three years only two companies from German venture portfolios went public. In 2005, there have already been 8 companies listed.

Interhyp, the leading online mortgage broker in Germany, is redefining the highly fragmented mortgage broker industry. The company provides independent advice to consumers combined with the advantages of the Internet. Earlybird invested 4.1 million EUR as part of the first institutional financing round in September 1999. A second financing round in July 2000, in which Earlybird contributed 2.8 million EUR, added 3i as an additional institutional investor. Earlybird further supported the company’s stock market flotation by selling 33% of its holding into the IPO. Following the new issue, which was oversubscribed 30x, Earlybird now holds a 15% interest in Interhyp after the sale of a portion of its holdings. Dr. Christian Nagel, Managing Partner of Earlybird Venture Capital, remains chairman of the Supervisory Board.

Esmertec is an independent software company with global market leadership in developing and marketing Java-based solutions and technologies for mobile phones and other electronic mass market devices. In September 2001, Earlybird led the first institutional syndicated round of financing in Esmertec, and after two additional rounds of financing in March 2002 and February 2003 had invested a total of 8.7 million US dollars of equity in the company. After the successful flotation, Earlybird currently holds a 15% interest in Esmertec AG.

Tipp24’s flotation on October 12th was oversubscribed 15x, marking the continuation of the extremely successful development of Tipp24, Germany’s leading Internet provider of Lotto, Oddset, and other governmentally licensed gaming products. In September 1999, Earlybird provided early stage financing in the amount of 3.7 million EUR. This was followed in September 2000 by a second financing round led again by Earlybird with 4.2 million EUR that included several private investors. Following the issuance, Earlybird holds about 20% interest, after selling about 45% of its holding in the IPO.

Earlybird’s Christian Nagel commented on the events of the last two weeks: “These initial public offerings reflect our portfolio strategy. We invest in excellent German and European technology companies, help them grow, and list them on the stock market to finance their further growth or connect them with a leading international company. Our latest successful public listings and last year’s sale of Element5 to Digital River in the U.S. demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a very good early stage venture capital performance in Europe with a systematic approach of identifying and developing companies, and the necessary staying power as a venture capitalist.”

Interhyp and Tipp24 are companies from Earlybird’s first fund generation. The returns from these exits and the proceeds from eventual sales of these stocks will allow the fund to repay the Investors´ contributions to the fund several times over. Thus, Earlybird establishes itself in the “Top Quartile” of the venture capital investment category. Earlybird is confident that it will be able to maintain the successful development of its portfolio companies and funds. “Within the next 12 - 24 months more companies, like Wilex and Amaxa (biotechnology), Zonare and Hemoteq (medical technology) and UPEK (biometric systems), should achieve significant advances in scale and maturity, enabling them to make substantial contributions to the performance of our funds,” comments Roland Manger, Managing Partner of Earlybird

About Earlybird:
Earlybird is an international venture capital company with offices in Germany (Hamburg and Munich) and the U.S. (Menlo Park, California). The company was established in 1997 and currently has approximately US$ 300 million of capital under management. Earlybird invests primarily in early stage companies, in Europe and the US, within the Software/IT, Communications and Healthcare industries, as well as in the area of Convergent Technologies. Earlybird identifies companies that are capable of global success in their respective industries while utilizing the best worldwide resources to do so. Most Earlybird companies are active in areas of technology where Europe plays a leading role and at the same time offers investors better initial valuations than in the U.S. Many of Earlybird’s portfolio companies have established subsidiaries across the Atlantic and in Asia. In some cases, company headquarters have relocated to the US to take advantage of market locale, entrepreneurial leadership talent, expansion, and exit opportunities.

In addition to their financial competence, Earlybird’s partners and staff possess extensive operating and management experience, enabling them to provide comprehensive support for their portfolio companies. A network of experienced industry specialists serves on Earlybird´s advisory board and assists Earlybird and its portfolio companies in providing strategic advice and operational support.


For further information, please contact:

Daniela von Wedel
Van-der-Smissen-Str. 3
22767 Hamburg
Tel.: +49-40-4329 41-0
Fax: +49-40-4329 41-29
vonwedel@earlybird.com
www.earlybird.com

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