Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc., the Arlington, Va.-based investment banking firm, is taking the global economy seriously, forming a strategic alliance with London, England-based Dawnay, Day Lander Ltd. (DDL), the U.K._s first Internet-focused cor

Although specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, FBR will raise $20 million for the DDL Internet Incubator Fund, and has purchased a minority equity interest in DDL. According to FBR Chairman and Co-CEO Emanuel J. Friedman, DDL_s Internet incubator supports promising Internet companies based in the U.K and Continental Europe, and specializes in advising and investing in early-stage Internet companies. Led by Chairman Guy Naggar and Chief Executive Jonathan Lander, the Incubator offers a range of support services to funded companies through strategic partnerships with Arthur Andersen, Microsoft U.K., BBC Resources, COLT Telecommunications, and Harbottle and Lewis. U.K. research house, Fletcher Research, recently acquired by Forrester Research Inc. of the U.S., is an advisor to the DDL Internet Incubator Fund. W. Russell Ramsey, FBR_s President and Co-CEO said FBR currently manages $300 million in venture capital investments in four funds. The DDL Internet Incubator Funds_ geographic focus on the area surrounding London is similar to the model used by one of these funds, FBR Technology Venture Partners (FBRTVP), in the technology-rich Netplex region around Washington, D.C. FBRTVP will not be involved in the DDL funds, he said. To date, four of the 16 companies that FBRTVP has invested in since its inception in 1997 have gone public, Ramsey said, with a combined market value of more than $172 million. Based on an initial investment of less than $9 million, that represents a return of 19.2 times the original investment in these four companies alone. As of December 31, 1999, FBRTVP had a return, before management fees and expense, of 7.4 times the initial investment, he said.