CAPCO Programs

According to a press release posted on Fox Business, Nestle is buying Sweet Leaf:

After three years, Catterton Partners has finally quenched its thirst for iced tea.

The consumer-focused private equity firm is selling Sweet Leaf Tea Co. to Nestle SA’s (NSRGY, NESN.VX) Nestle Waters North America Inc., which had been an investor and partner for over two years.

The Austin-based company had brought its revenue to $53 million in 2010 from under $10 million when Catterton first got involved back in 2008, investing $18 million. Freestone Partners LLC was an earlier backer, investing in Sweet Leaf in 2006 and 2007.
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A venture capital initiative in Wisconsin may be funded by a combination of a CAPCO program and fund of funds program.

In the venture capital arena, Wisconsin has long been a laggard.

Despite some growth in its venture capital pool during the last 25 years, Wisconsin still ranked just 25th among all states in 2010, with $234 million under management, according to the National Venture Capital Association’s Yearbook 2011.

Wisconsin ranks 20th in population, U.S. Census Bureau data shows.

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Gov. Scott Walker is pushing to develop a venture capital fund under a CAPCO Program in Wisconsin:

At the request of Gov. Scott Walker, former state Sen. Ted Kanavas is taking the lead in developing a venture capital fund for Wisconsin.

Saying the creation of such a fund would contribute significantly to Walker’s goal of creating 250,000 jobs, his staff is laying out an aggressive schedule that would have venture dollars being invested in high-potential, entrepreneurial companies by July 1, according to a memo written by Jason Culotta that was obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

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Advantage Capital Partners has selected Ironwood Capital to identify potential companies for investments:

Connecticut has chosen a Missouri-based equity and venture capital firm to manage a $72 million investment pool aimed at growing small businesses.

The new funds come out of a provision in the recently passed jobs bill, which revised the state’s Insurance Reinvestment Tax Credit program to allow money managers to invest in any Connecticut-based business, not only insurance-related ones.

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Companies that took advantage of the Capital Tax Credit Program agree that the Louisiana CAPCO Program should be re-instated:

When business leaders gathered Monday to announce the creation of a venture capital fund to help entrepreneurs at the very earliest stages of business development, they took a small step toward filling a funding gap that has persisted in New Orleans and Louisiana for decades.

‘We’ve gone from being like Estonia to people saying maybe this is the next major hot spot,’ said Matthew Wisdom, who founded the technology company TurboSquid in 2000.

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Through the Texas CAPCO Program, Advantage Capital Partners is providing $3.3 million to Hospice Partners, which will help retain jobs and encourage additional growth:

Advantage Capital Partners, a leading venture capital and small business finance firm, has provided $3.3 million in financing to Hospice Partners of Texas. The funding, raised in connection with the Texas Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) program, will allow the company to expand through the acquisition of Alamo Hospice, maintaining 70 full-time staff and a dozen part-time staff in the San Antonio region. Further growth is expected in the coming months, as Hospice Partners intends to expand Alamo Hospice and create additional jobs.

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Wisconsin’s CAPCO Program, which began in 1998, provided investments quickly to state-certified companies:

Wisconsin has done a good job assembling pools of angel investors with deep pockets to fund nascent companies here in the Badger State.

When it comes to raising additional money to back start-ups as they begin to grow, however, Wisconsin has fallen behind its neighbors.

But the state may be poised to create a so-called “fund of funds” worth between $100 million and $500 million – possibly backed by state-financed bonds – a panel of experts said Tuesday at a Wisconsin Technology Council luncheon.

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EnviRelation will be expanding its business with the $100,000 investment it was awarded from winning the DC Business Plan Competition:

EnviRelation, a District-based environmentally sustainable food composter and winner of the 2010 Washington, DC Business Plan Competition, today secured an investment of $50,000 from Advantage Capital Partners and $50,000 from Enhanced Capital Partners via the District’s CAPCO Program. These funds will be used to expand this young business and position it for future growth.

“We appreciate the recognition and support that this investment brings to our innovative company. This exciting opportunity to grow our business would not have occurred but for the Washington, DC Business Plan Competition and the District’s small business investment tax credit program, known as CAPCO,” said Walker Lunn, Founder and CEO of EnviRelation. Lunn continued, “Working capital from commercial banks is not readily accessible for small but fast-growing companies like ours, and the District is fortunate to have a CAPCO program that it is specifically designed to provide access to capital to District-based businesses in need of funds to grow.”

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SOMS Technologies has worked with Advantage Capital Partners for two years through the state’s CAPCO program:

The second quarter was a quiet one for venture capital finance in Westchester, with only several companies reported as tapping into $4.58 million in funding.

More than half of it, $2.65 million, was raised by a single company – SOMS Technologies L.L.C. of Valhalla, according to the quarterly MoneyTree Report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, using data from ThomsonReuters.

SOMS Technologies raised the $2.65 million in a Series A venture round co-led by Advantage Capital Partners and Rand Capital Corp., with several individual investors.

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EnviRelation was this year’s winner of the Business Plan Competition:

A $100,000 Prize and an inspiring keynote address headlined the 3rd Annual Small Business Awards today sponsored by the Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP).

Andrew Florance, Founder, Director, President & CEO of CoStar Group, Inc , the soon to be District-based real estate information leader, delivered the program’s stirring keynote address before an audience of 170 business and political leaders.  Florance spoke about the importance of this city as both a place to foster small business and leverage the federal nexus. Florance was introduced by Deputy Mayor Valerie Santos who praised his commitment to DC.

The presenting of the $100,000 Business Plan Competition Prize was the capstone of the morning program as EnviRelation, a local food waste recycling company, took the stage as this year’s winner.  In addition to being eligible for a $100,000 CAPCO investment, EnviRelation will receive $10,000 in pro-bono legal advice from Venable, LLP.  EnviRelation follows in the footsteps of the 2009 Business Plan Competition winner, Affinity Lab, who used the investment to open a second shared work space venture.

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