VenGrowth deal dead?
If my source is right, the proposed acquisition of VenGrowth by Covington Funds is dead. Given my affinity for the folks at Covington, GrowthWorks and VenGrowth, one can only have regret for the twists and turns that the process has taken — for all involved. Not every deal idea is a good one, and even the good ones don’t close sometimes.
This particular deal had plenty of fans, and lots of critics, too. Not that there’s anything unusual about that. RIM’s acquisition of Certicom comes to mind.
Once the dust has settled, I have every expectation that the needs of the unit holders and portfolio companies will prevail…whether the deal happens or not. Unfortunately, beyond the wasted time and legal fees, this episode has served to embolden the LSIF-haters at Queen’s Park. Whatever hope the start-up ecosystem had of a renewed retail venture capital program in the 2001 Ontario Budget was definitely put at risk once the details of the proposed Covington/VenGrowth deal were made public.
MRM
Mark, the LSIF industry continues to nail shut its own coffin. They have nobody to blame but themselves if the LSIF program never returns.