Toronto, ON, May 2, 2006 – MMV Financial Inc. (MMV), a specialty finance company providing creative debt solutions directly to technology and life sciences companies, announced today that it has closed a financing led by new investors NewStar Financial, Inc., and a major international bank. The investor group also included Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, an existing investor in MMV.
“The rapid growth of our business led us to broaden MMV’s base of financial support such that we would be well positioned to accelerate the pace of our investing,” said Minhas Mohamed, President and CEO of MMV Financial. “This financing increases our financing capacity by over US$100 million, allowing us to increase our investment program targeting technology and life sciences growth companies across North America. We are delighted to welcome this very prestigious group of new investors to MMV,” added Mr. Mohamed.
“MMV is a high growth finance company whose expertise and entrepreneurial principals are natural partners for technology and life science companies. Their long established market presence gives MMV a competitive advantage in the venture finance market, and we look forward to working with them as they continue to grow their portfolio,” said Bharath T. Srikrishnan, managing director, NewStar Financial.
“We followed through with a second investment in MMV because it is an important venture debt provider in Canada, and is managed by a proven and well regarded team,” added Maxime Durivage, Investment Manager Private Equity -Financial Services, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
About MMV Financial Inc.:
MMV Financial is a Toronto-based specialty finance company providing creative debt solutions directly to technology and life sciences companies across North America. MMV is backed by top U.S. and Canadian private equity firms and financial institutions including CCP Equity Partners, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, NewStar Financial, Inc., and Wells Fargo Company. For more information visit www.mmvf.com or contact:
Minhas Mohamed
President and CEO
Tel: (416) 977-9718
mmohamed@mmvf.com
About NewStar Financial, Inc.:
NewStar Financial, Inc. was formed in June 2004 by a group of senior banking and capital markets executives from leading financial institutions, including FleetBoston Financial, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, and leading institutional investors including Capital Z Partners, JP Morgan Corsair Capital Partners and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. NewStar is focused exclusively on providing customized financing solutions to mid-sized borrowers in three lending groups: Middle Market Corporate, Commercial Real Estate, and Structured Products. For more information, visit http://www.newstarfin.com/ or contact:
Bharath T. Srikrishnan
Managing Director
Tel: (617) 848-2584
bsrikrishnan@newstarfin.com
About the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2005, it held CA$122.2 billion of net assets. The leading institutional fund manager in Canada, the Caisse invests in the main financial markets as well as in private equity and real estate. For more information: http://www.lacaisse.com/ or contact:
Annie Vallières
Adviser, Information and Media Relations
Tel: (514)847-5493
avallieres@lacaisse.com