TriWest News Release

TriWest Capital Partners and Manitoba First Fund Announce Partnership To Establish TriWest Opportunities Fund Manitoba

Winnipeg, Manitoba – February 28, 2024 – TriWest Capital Partners (“TriWest”) and Manitoba First Fund (“MFF”) are pleased to announce the launch of TriWest Opportunities Fund Manitoba (“TOFM”). TOFM is a partnership designed to allow MFF to deploy capital alongside TriWest for the purpose of investing in Manitoba based businesses. MFF has committed $25 million to TOFM and TriWest has over $350 million of available capital to be deployed out of the TriWest Growth Fund and TriWest Fund VI. TOFM will provide Manitoba based management teams and entrepreneurs with access to capital for business development and growth opportunities to expand operations, enter new markets and support the continued success of Manitoba companies. Concurrent with the establishment of TOFM, TriWest is pleased to announce TOFM will be headquartered in Winnipeg and operated under the leadership of Mr. Gary Coleman, Senior Director of TOFM.

TOFM will provide Manitoba based businesses with the opportunity to partner with one of Western Canada’s leading private equity firms to access capital. TOFM will invest alongside management teams and entrepreneurs in established and profitable businesses which have clearly defined and sustainable competitive advantages. While the TriWest Growth Fund and TriWest Fund VI will allow us to cover a wide scale of investment opportunities, TOFM will target investment opportunities in companies generating annual cash flow between $2.5 million and $50 million. Bringing access to capital to Manitoba businesses will provide economic benefit and return for all Manitobans. Supporting the local economy has been a key component of TriWest’s success over the past 25-years. TriWest will bring the same local presence and support to partnership with Manitoba businesses through TOFM as has been the case throughout TriWest’s history of partnering with Western Canadian businesses, including several businesses that are headquartered in, or have a strong connection to, the Province of Manitoba.

Mick MacBean, Senior Managing Director at TriWest believes there are significant opportunities for TOFM and Manitoba businesses alike. “TriWest welcomes the opportunity to deploy dedicated capital in the highly diverse Manitoba economy. TriWest has had tremendous success investing in Manitoba based businesses. The entrepreneurs and management teams we have partnered with have strong execution capabilities, recognize opportunities for growth and have a strong connection to the Province of Manitoba. We are excited to build upon this success by formally partnering with MFF to establish TOFM and bring access to capital for Manitoba companies to support economic growth.”

“This is an exciting day for the team at Manitoba First Fund and TriWest as we bring much needed capital to Manitoba” said Gary Coleman. “The Province is home to many outstanding businesses and our goal is to invest in opportunities that provide an outsized return for the shareholders and ensure head office leadership is maintained and grown in the Province.”

Ken Ross, CEO of the Manitoba First Fund stated that “we are excited to be able to enter into a partnership with TriWest, another excellent and well established successful fund with a proven track record and strong local knowledge of Manitoba. We look forward to working with them as they seek opportunities to provide capital to support the success of Manitoba businesses in their various stages of growth and development.”

About TriWest Capital Partners

TriWest is Western Canada’s longest standing and most successful private equity firm having built a reputation as the “Partner of Choice”. Founded in 1998 and based in Calgary, AB, TriWest has raised over C$1.6BN of committed capital across seven funds and completed 48 platform investments in addition to over 50 add-on acquisitions. We are focused on making control investments in Western Canadian headquartered businesses with diversified revenue streams across Canada and the United States. TriWest provides tailored, adaptable support to our portfolio companies and management teams to accelerate value creation; there is no “one-size fits all” approach to our involvement. TriWest works closely with our portfolio companies around strategic guidance and analysis, succession planning, organic growth initiatives, add-on acquisitions, M&A, capital structure optimization, and providing strategic and support capital.

About Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman has 30+ years of diversified experience serving on Executive Boards for private, public sector, non-profit organizations, crown corporations and industry associations. Having owned and operated Big Freight Systems Inc., one of Manitoba’s largest transportation, logistics and warehousing operations that he sold, he understands the opportunities associated with the launching of TOFM. He comes with a proven track record of growing, leading, and eventually exiting a successful family business. He is also fully versed in the complexities of US/Canadian business operations, M&A, capital pool companies, transportation, logistics and industrial real estate and most recently Web3.

About Manitoba First Fund

Manitoba First Fund is a $100 million, provincially funded venture capital organization that was formed in 2023. MFF was established as a fund of funds to partner with existing investment funds that commit to investing in Manitoba and bring additional capital to the market. MFF does not invest directly into Manitoba businesses but through its partnership with other funds, facilitates access to capital for Manitoba businesses in order to further the development, growth and success of Manitoba’s economy and communities and to create opportunities for Manitoba.