KALAMAZOO ? One of the final pieces necessary to activate the $150 million Venture Michigan Fund, naming a fund manager, could be in place during February. Michigan State Treasurer Jay Rising, said during a panel discussion at Southwest Michigan First.
Seven firms submitted responses to the state?s RFP for a Fund manager. Six were interviewed and two were called back for second interviews. The other piece still necessary is for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to award the Fund non-profit status.
Rising, speaking on a panel that outlined what the Fund may mean to Michigan technology start ups, said the Fund manager could be named by mid February. Sources said the finalist is First Boston. Rising declined to confirm the information. Rising is CEO of the Fund.
The Fund is designed to give Michigan technology start-up companies access to the venture capital needed to become successful job-producing businesses.
The Fund will raise capital through the sale of debt instruments to Michigan-based banks, insurance companies and other corporations. The capital will be invested into venture capital firms with a significant Michigan presence. The Fund must also consider how venture capital companies will invest in Michigan-based start-up companies that are engaged in research, technology, and new product development.
From $70 million to $110 million will be invested in Michigan technology companies, with the rest held in reserve for debt service, said Thomas Kinnear, who is vice president of the Fund. Kinnear is Executive Director, Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in Ann Arbor.
