Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV Holds First Close at $105 Million

TORONTO, May 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Celtic House Venture Partners today announced the first close of Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV LP at $105 million. With the close of this new fund backed by leading institutional investors, including the Ontario Venture Capital Fund (OVCF), Teralys Capital, Export Development Canada (EDC) and BDC Venture Capital (BDC), the Celtic House team continues an 18-year history of investing in technology innovation in Canada.

Fund IV will focus on early-stage investment opportunities in Media Communications Technology (MCT), partnering with teams that have outstanding records of innovation and entrepreneurial success. MCT is a very real growth opportunity. Existing internet infrastructure is being taxed by the consumer-facing and mobility services that are changing the nature of social interaction and media consumption today. The transformation to a media-centric web will affect every aspect of IT from low level algorithms implemented in hardware to end-user application software.

With Celtic House's long history and emphasis on media infrastructure investing, Fund IV is expected to capture the best teams and ideas in Canada. Entrepreneurs backed by the new fund will have access to an existing cluster of MCT-focused portfolio companies and a global business relationship network built by the Celtic House team over the past decade. Synergy among the Celtic House portfolio companies has proven to reduce market resistance and accelerate time-to-revenue, dramatically improving the conditions for success of a new startup.

"Celtic House is excited to have the OVCF onboard as lead investor and recognizes the crucial role they played in the successful first close of Fund IV," said David Adderley, Partner at Celtic House. "Through multiple cycles of the financial markets, Celtic House has consistently generated superior financial returns for its investors. OVCF's support, along with that of Teralys, EDC and BDC, ensures that Celtic House will continue to be one of Canada's most active investors in private technology companies."

About Celtic House Venture Partners

Celtic House Venture Partners is an independent Canadian investment firm. Since 1994, Celtic House has been one of Canada's most active investors in technology and innovation. Capitalizing on the deep domain expertise of its partners, Celtic House has consistently provided superior financial returns to its investors. Celtic House has collaborated with management teams and repeat entrepreneurs to develop technology companies from the inception phase through to exit, generating over 20 initial public offerings and successful acquisitions. From offices in Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa, Celtic House manages over $425 million across three funds. For more information, visit www.celtic-house.com.

David Adderley, Partner, Celtic House, [phone]