Cycle Capital Management conducts first closing of Cycle Capital Fund I, L.P.

Cycle Capital Management (CCM) Inc. has raised $80 million in completing the first closing of Cycle Capital Fund I, L.P., an investment fund devoted to the clean technology and renewable-energy sector.

This threshold was reached thanks to the involvement of several partners, including the Government of Québec (through Investissement Québec), the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction, the Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec, Brookfield Renewable Power Inc., Cascades Inc., the Fonds d’action québécois pour le développement durable (FAQDD) and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

Montréal-based CCM will continue to raise capital over the coming months.

“We are proud to have reached this first stage toward our goal, even in tough economic times,” says Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and Senior Partner of Cycle Capital Management. “We are especially proud that this closing was conducted in partnership with the Québec government, major institutional investors and respected industrial groups such as Brookfield Renewable Power and Cascades.”

In addition to their financial commitments, Brookfield Renewable Energy and Cascades, as industrial partners of Cycle Capital Management, have agreed to provide technical support in validating technologies as well as business development support for companies that own clean technologies to help them move toward applications with huge potential markets.

Richard Legault, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Renewable Power, says he is pleased to be associated with the Cycle Capital Fund, adding: “By supporting leaders in tomorrow’s clean technologies, we are helping meet future energy needs and spurring economic growth while promoting high-quality jobs and preserving our environment.”

Key manufacturing industries are at a turning point and must alter their production and consumption habits. Investments in innovative projects will play a major role in building companies of international scope that can thrive in a fast emerging technology market. “Providing financial support to these clean-technology companies will help them export their know-how and command a place among leaders in the carbon-free new economy,” says Alain Lemaire, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cascades.

Cycle Capital Management has already invested in six Québec companies and remains on the lookout for any investment opportunity on markets in Québec, Canada and the entire northeast of the continent.

Investing in clean technologies and renewable forms of energy

Cycle Capital Fund I, L.P.’s mission is to invest in companies that develop and market clean technologies and renewable-energy projects, helping cut greenhouse gases, optimize resources and reduce impacts throughout their entire life cycles.

Up to now, the Fund has invested more than $13 million in six companies, including:

SiXtron Advanced Materials Inc., based in Montréal, develops and markets an innovative process for placing thin silicon carbide (SiC) layers on various supports applied in the solar energy field. www.sixtron.com

Vaperma Inc., based in Saint-Romuald, designs, develops, produces and markets innovative gas separation solutions that can be used for fuel-grade ethanol production, natural gas production, biogas treatment and chemical compound dehydration. www.vaperma.com