Tandem Expansion Fund I completes $300M Units Initial Offering

On November 26, 2009, Tandem Expansion Fund I, L.P., a Québec limited partnership founded by Charles Sirois and Brent Belzberg, completed an initial private placement offering of $300 million of Class A Units to BDC Capital Inc., Export Development Canada, Teralys Capital, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund Ltd., Télésystème Ltée and Brentsi Investments Inc., a corporation controlled by Charles Sirois and Brent Belzberg.

The fund, focused on late-stage venture financing, was formed to make significant minority investments in equity, equity-related and debt securities of primarily Canadian growth businesses in the sectors of information technology, communications, clean technologies, energy and resource technologies, advanced materials, technological innovations in traditional industries and life sciences.

Sirois and Belzberg assembled a team of experienced financial managers consisting of David Bookbinder, André Gauthier, Christopher Legg and Alex Moorhead to assist in the management and investment operations of the fund.

The fund, the general partner and Brentsi Investments Inc. were represented by Michel Cordeau, Vice-President Legal Services of Télésystème Ltée and by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP with a team that included Louis Séguin, Robert Paré and Pierre-Etienne Simard and were assisted on tax matters by Deloitte & Touche LLP.

The investors were collectively represented by McCullough O'Connor Irwin LLP, with a team that included Jonathan McCullough and Angela Austman (corporate/securities) that was supported by Leonard Glass of Lawson Lundell LLP on tax matters; Paul Harris of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP on behalf of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec; and Yvan Nantel, Senior Legal Counsel at Solidarity Fund QFL, on behalf of Teralys Capital, a private technology-focused fund of funds.