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October, BA Capital Partners Europe announced that it had spun out from parent company Bank of America, and renamed itself Argan Capital. Now its BA Venture Partners turn.

The Foster City, Calif.-based group will announce later today that it has become Scale Venture Partners, and that Bank of America has transitioned into a minority limited partner role on a $400 million fund that closed in 2005 (it previously had been the sole backer). The remaining LP stakes have been purchased by undisclosed institutions, with Probitas Partners serving as placement agent.

None of this is terribly surprising, particularly given that BA Venture Partners did not have any real strategic relationship to the parent bank. It didnt invest exclusively in financial services-related companies, did not receive exclusive research and worked with a variety of I-banks for its transactional needs (including BA, of course). Moreover, BA has been promoting a synergistic universal strategy so such a split was both inevitable and amicable.

The name Scale Venture Partners was chosen for a few reasons, including the notion that the group searches for markets of scale (i.e., at growth inflection points). But, beyond the name change and LP roster, dont expect any changes. The same management team is in place, while its investment strategy will continue to focus on development-stage technology and healthcare companies.

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