British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc. is very pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Vivonet Inc., has completed a treasury and secondary offering of shares for gross proceeds of US$8.5 million. Based on the purchase price for the shares, the aggregate gain on BC Discovery Fund’s investment in Vivonet is approximately $900,000. The increase to the Fund’s share value, or Pricing Net Asset Value per Share, attributable to this Vivonet transaction is approximately $0.14 per share, or an approximate increase of 2.0%. The financing was completed with Vancouver-based private equity capital firm, Maxam Opportunities Fund LP, with Capital West Partners having acted as financial advisor to Vivonet for the transaction.
Established in 1999, Vivonet is the restaurant industry leader in software as a service (SaaS) solutions that enable, acquire and organize over one hundred million transactions every month for customers in Canada and the United States. Vivonet provides Halo Secure Web Based point-of-sale (POS) and on-demand enterprise management, POS, payment processing and performance benchmarking solutions for its customers. Vivonet’s unique ability to aggregate the transaction data created by its customers allows their customers to benchmark their performance against other users and the industry at large, leading to better performance and higher business success rates. Vivonet expects to over double revenue in 2010 and for the fourth consecutive year has made the Ready to Rocket 25 list, recognizing Vancouver’s highest growth companies.
“This financing provides Vivonet with capital to fund its explosive growth, and to execute on several market disrupting opportunities” said Vivonet CEO, Ryan Volberg. “Discovery Capital, through BC Discovery Fund, has been an invaluable partner of Vivonet and Maxam’s local presence, entrepreneurial background and substantial resources make them an ideal additional partner for the Vivonet team.”
“It is gratifying to see Vivonet gaining traction on a number of fronts, and growing from a small group of dedicated individuals to a team of technology and marketing professionals that are enabling the company to be a leading global player,” remarked Charles Cook, CFO and Investment Manager of the Fund. “We congratulate Ryan and his team and look forward to the next chapter of Vivonet’s exciting growth story.”
About British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc.
British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC) Inc. was established to make venture capital investments in a portfolio of small businesses in British Columbia that qualify under the Small Business Venture Capital Act, focusing on all of B.C.’s top internationally recognized technology clusters; information technology (software and hardware), mobile technology (wireless and networking solutions), clean technology (alternative energy and energy-saving technology solutions), new media and health and life sciences.
Established in 2002 and managed by Discovery Capital Management Corp., the Fund is focussed on making diversified investments in British Columbia with the objectives of achieving long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders and contributing to the growth in value and employment of the technology industry in British Columbia. In addition to offering a means of participating in the potential of British Columbia’s newest technology ventures, the Fund offers significant tax savings to eligible British Columbia individual and corporate investors. The Fund, which offers its shares on a continuous basis, has raised over $65 million to date and has investments in fifteen developing technology companies. B.C. resident investors are entitled to receive a tax credit equal to 30% of the amount invested in the Fund.
This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy common shares. This press release may include statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. The issuer cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control. Future events and results may vary substantially from what the issuer currently foresees. |
