Sail Venture Partners, the early- and mid-stage investment arm of Irvine-based venture capital firm Sail Capital Partners, kicked off a $100 million joint fund in Ontario, Canada.
The partnership with Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc., a subsidiary of St. Louis-based investment banking firm Stifel Financial Corp., will target clean-technology companies.
Sail has invested in a number of clean-technology companies here, including Irvine-based FlexEnergy Inc., Lake Forest-based M2 Renewables, and SNTech in Phoenix.
This isn’t the first time Sail has looked to Ontario to tap into the clean-technology business. The venture capital firm is one of the investors in the Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund, a $250 million fund that was set up in 2009 with plans to commit the sum over a five-year span.
“Ontario is helping to create the next frontier of clean technology, becoming the capital of clean-tech in Canada,” said Walter Schindler, Sail’s managing partner.
Ontario has leveraged about $27 billion in private-sector investments since the Feed-in Tariff Program was launched in 2009 with an aim to create new clean-energy industries and jobs, according to the Ontario Ministry of Energy.
“Sail Venture Partners’ investing in Ontario’s clean-energy economy is a clear sign of the economic opportunities that exist in the province,” said Chris Bentley, minister of energy, in a statement.
