Established in 1998, the purpose of the CVCA’s ‘Deal of the Year Award’ competition is to promote, highlight and celebrate the achievements of CVCA members who have had outstanding investment successes. The selection process focuses on members with the most significant investment return during the last twelve months ending June 30, 2009.

Venture Capital Category Winner

“It is my pleasure to announce that BDC Venture Capital, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Le Fonds de solidarité FTQ won this year’s venture capital category award for their joint investment in ViroChem Pharma, Inc.”, said Richard Kinlough, Chairman of CVCA’s Deal of the Year Committee and Managing Director, Group Head, CIT Corporate Finance, Canada, “The group first invested in ViroChem Pharma in April 2004, and upon exit in March 2009, the investment had generated an internal rate of return (IRR) of 68% and a multiple of 5.4 times original investment.” The CVCA would also like to congratulate Picchio Pharma and Shire BioChem for their co-investment in ViroChem Pharma.

The honour was accepted by Charles Cazabon, Vice President, Venture Capital at BDC, Martial Lacroix, Vice President, GeneChem (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) and Janie C. Béïque, Senior Vice-President, Le Fonds de solidarité FTQ at CVCA’s AGM Dinner in Toronto on Tuesday, September 22, 2009. “BDC and its partners are extremely pleased with ViroChem Pharma’s success and what it means to our investors,” states Mr. Cazabon. “Successes such as these underscore the importance of venture investors in supporting growth and innovation in Canada and we look forward to continuing to be a key player in this industry.”

ViroChem Pharma, Inc. engages in researching, development and producing drugs for viral diseases. It offers drugs for HCV and HIV infections. As of the acquisition by publicly traded Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ-VRTX) on March 12, 2009, ViroChem Pharma operates as a subsidiary of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.

BDC Venture Capital is a major venture capital investor in Canada, active at every stage of the company's development cycle, from seed through expansion, with a focus on technology-based businesses that have high growth potential and that are positioned to become dominant players in their markets. BDC Venture Capital has been involved in venture capital since 1975 and has to date supported more than 400 companies with investments totalling over $1.16 billion in the life sciences, telecommunications, information and advanced technology sectors, as well as commitments of $253 million in 19 funds. www.bdc.ca/venturecapital

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a private equity firm specializing in private equity and real estate investments. The firm also manages the funds contributed to the Quebec Pension Fund. The firm’s private equity investments invest in development capital, buyouts, mezzanine, small and medium sized enterprises, and technology venture capital funds. www.lacaisse.com

Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, management buyouts, growth and expansion financings, financial restructuring, family and non-family buyout, new market developments, interim financings, new product marketing, succession planning, working capital, purchase of tangible and intangible assets, and restructuring in small and medium sized businesses. The Fonds has net assets of $6.4 billion as at May 31, 2009. www.fondsftq.com

Private Equity Category Winner

"It is my pleasure to announce that Clairvest Group Inc. has, for the second year running, won the private equity category award, this year for its investment in Shepell•fgi," said Richard Kinlough. "Clairvest's investment in October 2005 with follow-on investment in September 2006 generated an internal rate of return of 108% and a multiple of 6.6 times investment."

Ken Rotman and Jeff Parr, both Co-Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of Clairvest, accepted the honour at the CVCA's AGM Dinner in Toronto on Tuesday, September 22, 2009. “We are pleased with the successful closing of Morneau Sobeco’s acquisition of Shepell•fgi,” said Ken Rotman, Co-CEO and Managing Director of Clairvest. “We are sincerely grateful to all of the management of Shepell•fgi who worked tirelessly to build this great company and who shared in the ownership with us. We are confident the company will continue to flourish under Morneau Sobeco and see the combined company as having a terrific future. We also appreciate the support we received from other members of our financial community in financing the transaction including Manulife, CIBC and BMO on the sub debt and TD, Scotia and Sun Life on the senior debt.”

Shepell·fgi is Canada’s largest provider of employee assistance programs. Shepell·fgi provides health and productivity solutions for small, mid-size and large organizations by understanding the needs of both people and organizations and delivering innovative, high-quality research-based solutions.

Founded in 1987, Clairvest is a Toronto-based private equity investment firm with over C$600 million of equity capital under management. Clairvest is today investing out of its fourth fund. Clairvest focuses on 2 strategies, local market casinos and regional consolidation plays of recurring revenue businesses, principally in Canada & the United States. The underlying philosophy of Clairvest is the concept of alignment of interest through risked capital. Clairvest, owned 80% by its board and management, have committed $100 million to their latest fund.