Canada's Largest Cleantech Venture Fund to Drive Growth of Global Clean Technology with Second Closing

Investor commitment signals growing support for breakthrough technologies solving climate change issues as cleantech begins to disrupt virtually every industry

TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2019 /CNW/ - ArcTern Ventures, a venture capital firm investing globally in breakthrough clean technology companies addressing climate change and sustainability, announced today a second closing of its Fund II.

In response to growing institutional investor and family office interest in planet-positive investments, ArcTern increased its second fund size to $200 million from $150 million, with new investors including TD Bank Group, Suncor, BDC, top family offices such as The Ivey Foundation, and another top Canadian pension fund. They join anchor investors OMERS, Equinor (formerly Statoil) and others. Together, they have invested approximately $165 million in aggregate capital commitments to-date, indicating surging levels of confidence in current and emerging cleantech innovation.

"We are pleased to help advance cleantech innovation and entrepreneurs through our investment in ArcTern Ventures' Fund II and to partner with leading global energy firms and pension funds," said Drew MacIntyre, Vice Chair and Head of Global Energy, TD Securities. "This investment is part of TD's 'The Ready Commitment' which supports the transition to a lower carbon future and contributes to building a more sustainable tomorrow."

Today's announcement positions ArcTern Fund II as the largest cleantech venture fund in Canada and among the leading cleantech venture funds in the world. ArcTern's managing partners, Murray McCaig and Tom Rand, co-founded ArcTern Ventures in 2012 with the view that the accelerating global transition to a greener economy was inevitable, bringing significant investment opportunity as it disrupts virtually all industries.

"The Ivey Foundation is pleased to join other leading Canadian investors to create one of the country's largest cleantech funds and ultimately support Canada's transition to a sustainable economy. We agree with ArcTern's view on the global shift towards sustainability and we believe that investments of this kind can lead to long-term growth in our endowment."

ArcTern analysis shows a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity within the cleantech industry, particularly in cleantech innovation, and strong potential to generate both outsized financial returns and a positive environmental impact.

"By leveraging our integrated energy expertise, Suncor is in an enviable position to accelerate technology deployment. ArcTern's deep domain knowledge and connectivity to the global cleantech ecosystem combined with our own cleantech investments and industry collaboration will contribute to how we're positioned in the future low carbon economy," said Steve Reynish, executive vice president, strategy and operations services, Suncor.

"The global cleantech sector is growing and innovating at such a rapid pace that it's providing more investment opportunities than we ever thought possible only a few years ago," explained McCaig. Rand, a leading global climate solution advocate, added that "Cleantech investing is a team sport, which is why we are excited to have united such a powerful and forward-thinking group of investor partners. Our leadership, coupled with their capital commitments, expertise and global connections will help drive the growth of our investee companies with the goal of transforming them into global market leaders."

"We are pleased to be partnering with ArcTern and their strategy of building global cleantech champions from their base in Canada," said Alison Nankivell, Vice President of Fund Investments at BDC Capital. "Entrepreneurs are at the core of everything BDC does and we believe founding partners Tom and Murray have the operating experience as start up founders and CEOs that will enable them to provide hands on guidance to companies helping Canada and the global economy transition to a more sustainable future."

In Canada, ArcTern works closely with MaRS Discovery District to find the highest-potential companies in cleantech. MaRS is North America's largest urban innovation hub and a leader in startup acceleration.

About ArcTern Ventures
ArcTern Ventures is a Toronto-based venture capital firm investing globally in breakthrough clean technology growth companies addressing climate change and sustainability. ArcTern was founded by Murray McCaig and Tom Rand around the belief that the accelerating transition to a greener economy will disrupt all industries and present a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for both outsized financial returns and positive environmental impact. For more information, please visit www.arcternventures.com.

About BDC
BDC is the only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. It promotes Canadian entrepreneurship with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses. With its 118 business centres from coast to coast, BDC provides businesses in all industries with financing and advisory services. Its investment arm, BDC Capital, offers equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions. BDC is also the first financial institution in Canada to receive B Corp certification. To find out more, visit bdc.ca.

About Suncor
Suncor Energy is Canada's leading integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. A member of Dow Jones Sustainability indexes, FTSE4Good and CDP, Suncor is working to responsibly develop petroleum resources while also growing a renewable energy portfolio. Suncor is listed on the UN Global Compact 100 stock index. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the fifth largest bank in North America by branches and serves over 26 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 13 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$1.4 trillion in assets on July 31, 2019. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE ArcTern Ventures