GRP Partners Fund IV Wraps First Close En Route to $250M Vehicle

GRP Partners is at it again. The VC—which seems to continually be bagging early-stage hits—is raising a fourth fund with a bigger target than the one it closed in just 2008.

GRP has already completed a first close, and will likely do a second before the end of 2011, four sources confirm to peHUB. A final close at $250 million is anticipated early next year, sources said. Most of the VC’s prior investors are jumping back on board for GRP IV, and some new LPs, too, like Invesco, will join.

On to the exits: what’s keeping LPs running back to GRP at a time when many VC funds are struggling to raise funds are deals like HealthDataInsights, in which the VC had a 30% stake, selling earlier this month for $400 million. GRP bought into the Series A round with an investment that totaled about $13 million in 2005 with Ticonderoga Capital and Redhills Ventures. HDI, according to one source, reeled in a gaudy 14x multiple for GRP’s second fund. Other successful investments include GRP’s backing of BillMeLater, which sold to eBay in 2008; LastMinute.com, the European travel site; and retailer Costco.

Investments from GRP’s third fund include its backing of TrueCar (a venture its second fund also backed separately), social analytics firm DataSift, software developer ObjectLabs, and mobile communications company GOGII. Other Fund III investments include digital production company Maker Studios, mobile ad developer Burstly, and advertiser GumGum.

It is a bit too early to start taking the temperature on GRP III, but GRP’s second fund from 2000 is fully baked. For its second fund, GRP’s IRR is 11.3% and its investment multiple is 1.87X, according to Preqin data.

GRP is an early stage investor, but that doesn’t mean the VC is bullish on all early-stage investors. In a recent speech, GRP partner Mark Suster predicted that the angel investing community would be hard up very soon, in part because of over saturation due to the fact that ENIFA (everybody now is a…angel).

GRP did not provide comment on the record for this story.