10.30.2003 Capvest Venture Fund Obtains SBIC License

COLUMBUS, Ohio (October 30, 2003) Capvest Venture Fund, formerly Virgin Ventures Fund, a Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio-based venture capital fund, announced today that it has obtained licensing approval as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Capvest Venture Fund joins an exclusive group of fewer than 200 venture capital firms issued SBIC licenses since inception of the program.

Capvest Venture Fund will seek to invest in companies with annual revenues of $5 million or more with a record of generating earnings and cash flow in the following industries: manufacturing, distribution, business services, healthcare and enabling technology.

The U.S. Small Business Administration created the SBIC program in 1958 to help smaller privately owned companies obtain equity financing typically unavailable through banks or other private sources. SBICs, which are privately owned and managed investment firms, use their own capital, plus funds provided at favorable rates by the SBA.

Currently, Capvest Venture Fund has formed partnerships with Community Bankers of Wisconsin (CBW) and Community Bankers Association of Ohio (CBAO), in order to expand the amount of capital available for venture capital transactions in Ohio, Wisconsin and the Midwest.

William Custer and Jakki Haussler, Managing Directors, said the Fund is accepting business plans and actively seeking new investments. “We are pleased to have successfully passed the stringent review required to obtain an SBIC license. It has been a three-year process, but the support of SBA is encouraging. This new fund will enable us to provide much needed equity capital in our target industries and our geographic markets.”

Capvest Venture Fund’s investment team, William M. Custer, Jakki L. Haussler, Don O’Shea and Charles Kearns have a combined 75 plus years of experience in investments, private equity transactions, entrepreneurial management, mergers and acquisitions, investment banking and investment advisory services, and have been involved with the formation and operation of six prior funds.

Capvest Venture Fund was established to make investments in a diversified portfolio of U.S.-based private growth companies and has received licensing approval as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC). The Fund seeks to generate long-term returns in excess of those normally available through conventional investments and is uniquely positioned to invest in today's market. Capvest Venture Fund maintains offices in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio and Mequon, Wisconsin.