Bank Of Nova Scotia @43.70
Scotiabank sets up high-tech
venture capital unit
By TERRY WEBER
Globe and Mail Update
Bank of Nova Scotia said Wednesday it's joining the
list of venture capitalists investing in the high-tech
industry by forming a new unit devoted to sinking
money into the sector.
The arm will be called RoyNat Ventures and
operate under RoyNat Capital, Scotiabank's
merchant bank subsidiary.
"Unlike a fund, we're really approaching the market
on an open-ended basis," Rod Reynolds, RoyNat
Capital's president, said in an interview.
"We plan to invest a minimum of $25-million a year
and that really builds on our existing book of about
20 companies for $30-million." In the first half of
this year, the Canadian venture capital industry has
invested more than $2-billion in the technology
sector.
Mr. Reynolds said RoyNat Ventures will focus on
high-tech opportunities "ranging from early-stage
technology companies with strong growth potential
to established technology companies with plans to
expand."
The new operation will be helmed by Robert Roy,
director of merchant banking at RoyNat Capital. Mr.
Roy has been with RoyNat Capital for eight years,
joining the operation after a term at Innovation
Ontario, a provincial fund that had a role in
developing high-tech firms like Research in Motion,
Open Text and Certicom.
"RoyNat Capital has laid a strong foundation in the
high-tech sector with investments in
telecommunications, wireless, advanced materials,
e-commerce, software and information technology,"
Mr. Roy said in a release outlining the operation.
"With its exclusive focus on the technology sector,
RoyNat Ventures will build on this successful
foundation and add another dimension to RoyNat
Capital's expanding merchant banking services."