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Garage Canada Launches Venture Capital Fund for Technology Start-Ups
FIER Partners Invests $10 Million in the Garage Technology Ventures Canada Fund
Montréal, April 27, 2006 – The Chief Executive Officer of FIER Partenaires, LLP, Sylvie Pinsonnault and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jean Cyr, have announced a new investment by FIER Partners in a $50-million technology sector fund. "The $10-million investment in Garage Technology Ventures Canada is in addition to a first round of $40 million that will support the start-up and development of Québec companies operating in particular in advanced digital technologies, high-technology materials, medical instrumentation and clean technologies," Ms. Pinsonnault said.
Garage Technology Ventures Canada is a fund set up by Garage Canada to make early-stage investments, corresponding to the seed, start-up and initial development stages of technology companies .
"We are proud of the confidence shown by FIER Partners and the other initial investors," said Garage Canada's Managing Director, Louis Desmarais. "We are confident that our business plan will provide them with very satisfactory returns. We are in talks with other private investors concerning the Fund’s expansion and a second closing that, in the near future, could bring capitalization to $100 million."
"The involvement of FIER Partners contributes to the development of new fields of excellence in each region of Québec that may receive investments from Garage Technology Ventures Canada, which obtains its capitalization in particular from private investors in a ratio that satisfies the commitment of FIER Partners to invest one dollar for every two dollars invested by the private sector," the Chairman of the Board of Directors of FIER Partners, Jean Cyr, observed.
FIER Partners has invested $10 million in Garage Technology Ventures Canada, while private investors, namely the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Garage Canada , have provided $40 million.
"FIER Partners is very satisfied to have contributed to the constitution of this new sector fund that will enable young companies operating in the most promising sectors to receive the strategic financial support that is indispensable to their success," Ms. Pinsonnault added, noting that today’s announcement is a concrete step contributing to strengthening the venture capital sector dedicated to business start-ups in Québec.
FIER Partners is one of three components of the Regional Economic Intervention Fund (FIER) set up by the Québec government. It consists of a limited partnership whose initial capitalization of $180 million is provided by Investissement Québec’s subsidiary IQ FIER, for an amount of $90 million, and by three tax-advantaged funds: the Fonds de solidarité FTQ ($50 million), Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins ($25 million) and Fondaction, the Fonds de développement de la CSN pour la coopération et l'emploi ($15 million).
FIER Partners LLP has $80 million available to support the creation of sector development funds that make investments consisting of equity or quasi-equity in start-up companies. The limited partnership contributes one dollar for every two dollars provided by private investors, so that the total capitalization of the sector funds may eventually reach $240 million. FIER Partners also has an envelope of $100 million to support developmental projects, mainly in the regions. For more information, visit www.fierpartenaires.com /en
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Information:
Jean-Pierre Bernier
Spokesperson
514
873-7244