Braveheart Investments Regulatory News (BRH)

5 Apr 2007 07:01

Braveheart Investment Group plc05 April 2007 5 April 2007 Braveheart Investment Group plc ("Braveheart" or the "Group") Acquisition of WL Ventures Ltd Braveheart (AIM:BRH), the technology commercialisation and investment managementcompany, announces that it has acquired 100% of the share capital of WL VenturesLtd ("WLV"). WLV is an investment business which has a portfolio of minorityholdings in a number of privately held technology companies. The considerationfor the purchase consists of an undisclosed initial sum, with a secondarypayment being made on the basis of equal sharing of the proceeds from investmentrealisations. WLV was set up by West Lothian Council in 1998 with the objective of investingequity in early stage technology companies based in the West Lothian area. Sincethen, WLV and its sister company, West Lothian Venture Fund Ltd, have invested£2.4m in such businesses, and the portfolio now comprises ten investments. WestLothian Venture Fund transferred its investments to WLV earlier this year. Braveheart will take on the management of the portfolio companies and willconsider providing follow-on funding, where it believes it can create value. Itwill also use its network of high net worth entrepreneurs to support theportfolio companies as they grow. As part of the transaction, WLV has beenrenamed Caledonia Portfolio Ltd. Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive of Braveheart, Geoffrey Thomson,said, "One of the reasons for floating Braveheart was to enable us to acquirequality portfolios where there is an opportunity for Braveheart to utilise itsexpertise and financial resources to add value and help companies grow.Although, this acquisition is relatively small, we now have over 30 companies inour diverse and growing portfolio. We are pleased to have been able to structurethe transaction in such a way that West Lothian Council will benefit from anyincreased value created in the Caledonia portfolio. "Through this acquisition the companies in the Caledonia portfolio will haveaccess to both managerial and corporate support and potential follow-on equityfunding, where appropriate. This will enable them to accelerate thetechnological R&D and commercialisation programmes." Jim Dickson, Director of West Lothian Council, added, "We established WLV tonurture enterprise and we are delighted that Braveheart has acquired theportfolio to support the companies in their next stage of growth. Braveheart'sexpertise in this field will undoubtedly add value to the portfolio and we aredelighted that our new small loans fund will be benefiting in the form ofproceeds from any realised investments in the portfolio." A selection of the portfolio is as follows: Ectopharma Ltd: A company who is developing therapeutic pesticides forconditions including the treatment of human head lice. Braveheart recently led around of funding into EctoPharma, for a sum of £2 million. Scalar Technologies Ltd: A leading supplier of innovative optical metrologysystems for industrial applications. Bloxx Ltd: This company has developed a range of purpose designed internetfiltering appliances for the workplace. Pentland Systems Ltd: A high performance signal acquisition solution providerfor military computer systems. For further information, please contact: Braveheart Investment Group Tavistock CommunicationsGeoffrey Thomson Richard SunderlandChief Executive Rachel DrysdaleSimon Hudson Tel: 01738 587 555 Tel: 020 7920 3150 rdrysdale@tavistock.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange