Fund of Funds Launched to Raise Investment Capital

Phoenix, AZ A coalition of state and local business organizations, including The Arizona Economic Resource Organization (AERO), the Arizona Department of Commerce, Arizona Technology Council, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Flinn Foundation and Arizona venture capitalists, has retained Sun Mountain Capital to establish, operate and grow a privately funded Fund of Funds program for the State of Arizona. The goal of the Fund is to attract and oversee the investment of as much as $200 million to benefit Arizonas promising, innovative businesses. The program raises investment capital from investors and reinvests those funds in several professionally managed target venture funds who commit to invest in early-stage Arizona companies. Access to critically needed early stage funding and venture capital investments will result from this initiative certain to be a promising and powerful resource for science and technology entrepreneurs, said AERO board chair Larry Hecker, principal of Hecker & Muehlebach in Tucson. Not only will an Arizona fund of funds assist existing and start-up companies that are already here, but it could result in the relocation of valuable expandable companies and the creation of high skill/high wage jobs. Sun Mountain Capital was founded by a team of senior investment professionals with over 60 years of private equity investment experience and currently manages over $500 million in assets. Arizona has impressive technical and scientific resources, but it has been challenging for many innovative, Arizona-based companies to find the capital they need to grow, said Brian Birk, Managing Partner of Sun Mountain Capital. The Arizona Fund of Funds will help alleviate this situation by deepening the local capital pool, Sun Mountain has managed many successful Programs in the past, and Arizona will benefit from our experience. We look forward to working closely with AERO and others in making this Program a success. The expertise of Sun Mountain will allow the Arizona Fund of Funds to be a catalyst for our States venture capital industry, said AERO board member Bill Hardin, an attorney with Osborn Maledon in Phoenix. This initiative will arm the science and technology leaders in Arizona with significant capital investment at a time when we must focus on strengthening businesses and diversifying our State economy. Translational Accelerator, LLC (TRAC) has looked at close to a dozen companies located outside of Arizona which indicated a willingness to relocate to Arizona if we provided funding for them, said Eric Tooker of TRAC, a $20 million bioscience venture capital group based in Arizona. This is a very good indication of the likely success the Fund of Funds will have in attracting new businesses to Arizona. Enhancing Arizonas global competitiveness by accelerating the pace of discovery, innovation and technology business development has never been more critical, said Donald E. Cardon, Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. Access to capital is a vital component to the infrastructure necessary for growing Arizonas innovative companies and attracting top CEOs to choose Arizona for expansion and headquarter relocation. The timing is right, and we must be aggressive in securing a stronger economic future and better jobs for Arizonans.