May 2005

It has been another very busy couple of months for the industry. Three of the NZVIF Funds announced new investments; Endeavour (software innovator Derceto), TMT (ICT research integrator MediaLab) and iGlobe Treasury (nutraceutical company Meracol).

In late April the Government announced the introduction of new Limited Partnership regime. This is great news for the venture capital and private equity industry. We expect that a draft Bill for this will be ready around September/early October and we will keep you informed on progress.

In May, the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) appointed LECG to undertake a major review on the NZ venture capital and private equity industry. There is more detail on this below. This is a great opportunity, and time, to review the industry's dynamics, issues and opportunities and we encourage industry participants to get involved with this review.

We have had a great response to our Auckland (8 June) and Wellington (13 July) networking evenings. Full details for these are set out below as well. Please note though that registrations for the Auckland event close at 5.00pm Wednesday 1 June so be in quick if you would like to come. If you have not received a confirmation e-mail for this on Monday this week - you are not registered yet.

Ernst & Young and the NZVCA recently released the 2004 VC Monitor industry survey - which has some very positive messages and some excellent content. A separate e-mail regarding this is coming to you in the next day or two and so look out for that. Copies of the survey are available on the NZVCA and Ernst & Young websites. Please also contact me if you would like a hard copy.

LECG has been commissioned by MoRST to undertake a study of the local venture capital and private equity markets, to inform the development of public policy in this sector.

LECG's team comprises Professor Josh Lerner of Harvard University, who over the last fifteen years has published widely on venture capital and innovation issues (e.g. "The Venture Capital Cycle" and "Innovation and its Discontents"), Stuart Shepherd from LECG's Auckland office, and David Moore from the Wellington office.

The study is due to be completed by late August. Professor Lerner will be visiting New Zealand during the study and we anticipate there will be an opportunity for NZVCA members to meet with him - we will notify you when this is confirmed.

LECG has convened an Advisory Group to provide review input into the study, which comprises Mark Dossor of Endeavour Capital, Tony Hannon of I-CAP and Professor Glenn Boyle of Victoria University. This Group may be expanded as the study proceeds.

If you have issues you wish to raise with the study team, or suggestions for case studies that would provide useful insights into public policy issues facing the sector, contact Stuart Shepherd on 09 913 6242 or sshepherd@lecg.com.

Full event details are set out in the News & Events section of the NZVCA website. Registrations for this event close at 5.00pm Wednesday 1 March 2006.

To register, please go to the “Events” section of the NZVCA website and click on “Register” for this specific event. The event is free to NZVCA members.

Take me to the online registration for this event

We welcome the following new members:

Rangatira Ltd – Full member

Intellectual Capital Partners Ltd – Full member

Carter Holt Harvey - New Ventures – Full member

de Geest Ventures Ltd - Full member

Westpac Banking Corporation - Associate Member

Russell McVeagh - Associate member

The Biocommerce Centre Ltd - Incubator member

Ice Angels - Angel member

Wayne Williams - Individual member

Jim McElwain - Individual member

Martyn Levy - Individual member

Bell Gully and the NZ Software Association are holding the second of their Tuesday Club events on Tuesday November 8 from 4.30 -6.30pm at the Tamaki Yacht Club in Auckland. There is also a networking dinner event following on from the club session. The guest speaker for this is Phil Holliday of Holliday Corporation speaking on the topic of "How I became a Rich Bastard".

Full details are set out in the attached document. Please register for this event directly with Brenda O'Hara at NZSA as indicated in that document.

Full event details are set out in the attached invitation.

Registrations for this event close on Wednesday 1 June and so you need to register online at www.nzvca.co.nz no later than 5.00pm on the 1st

To do this, please go to the “Events” section of the NZVCA website and click on “Register” for this specific event. The event is free to NZVCA members.

Take me to the online registration for this event

As we mentioned in the last newsletter, Jenny Morel from No 8 Ventures was invited to attend the Australia New Zealand Leaders Forum in Melbourne recently to represent venture capital and private equity. Jenny has now written a paper on the trans-Tasman venture capital market and what we need to have for a single market. Please contact Christopher Twiss at the NZVCA if you would like to a copy of this and if anyone would like to help with further work on this subject, they should e-mail Jenny at:

jenny@no8ventures.co.nz

Regards,

Chris Twiss
ex NZVCA