Monday, May 28, 2001

Waterloo venture fund grows to $30 million -- Tech Capital Partners attracts new investors, boosting fund size by 30%

WATERLOO, MAY 28, 2001 -- Tech Capital Partners Inc., the only venture capital firm based in the growing high-tech centre of Waterloo, Ontario, has attracted new investors to its Waterloo Tech Capital fund, raising the total fund size to $30 million.

The lead investor in this round is the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which joins Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Cranston, Gaskin, O'Reilly & Vernon Investment Counsel of Toronto as the institutional investors in Waterloo Tech Capital.

"We've been delighted by the positive response of some very discerning investors to our Waterloo fund," said Tim Jackson of Tech Capital Partners. "They've recognized the value we can bring to emerging high-tech companies in this area through the hands-on assistance to entrepreneurs that our presence in the community allows us to provide."

Tech Capital Partners focuses its investments on companies in the early stages of developing core technologies which have the potential to be at the heart of next-generation products within a large and fast-growing market. The Waterloo Tech Capital fund initially closed at $23 million at the end of January.

About Tech Capital Partners Inc.
http://www.techcapital.com
Tech Capital Partners was formed in January 2001 by Andrew Abouchar and Tim Jackson. Its partners manage two funds: Waterloo Tech Capital and Waterloo Ventures, both of which focus on early-stage technology companies in and near Waterloo, Ontario.