The BC Renaissance Capital Fund allocates $55 Million

Update: The B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund Ltd. informed us today that our list of fund managers and amounts is incorrect but won’t be in a position to confirm the actual managers and amounts until later this fall. Techvibes has removed references to the fund managers and capital allocations until official confirmation.

The B.C. Renaissance Capital Fund Ltd. is a Crown corporation that is administered by the provincial Investment Capital Branch.  The Renaissance Fund invests in venture capital partnerships managed by experienced investment professionals. It focuses on four key technology sectors: information technology, new media, clean technology and life sciences.

In the spring, the Fund issued a Request for Qualifications to identify experienced investment professionals to provide venture capital fund management services. Through this RFQ, the Renaissance Fund expected to select up to four fund managers to invest and manage a total of $55 Million of capital.

While the Renaissance Fund was formally launched in Vancouver in April 2008 and already had invested some of its capital with several VC fund managers that were selected via RFQ in 2007/2208, this new RFQ was a continuation of that initiative.

Word on the street today is that the four fund managers have been selected from the short-list of seven and the money has been officially allocated with XXX and XXX receiving $XX Million each, XXX receiving $XX Million, and XXX taking home the lion’s share with $XX Million.

Unlike last year when VC money was abundant, there was apparently a huge number of VC firms applying including many from the United States including Menlo Park’s XXX.