Montréal, September 16, 2003 – Desjardins Venture Capital announces the investment of $3 million in a financing agreement totalling $6 million for the TimeSpring Software Corporation. The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is a partner in the agreement with a $2.5 million interest. This investment is made to support the growth of TimeSpring. The Montréal based company plans to accelerate the development of its technological platform in order to market its first product in North America.

TimeSpring’s patented Continuous Protection technology represents a new paradigm in computing.  The software allows businesses to protect and recover mission critical information in real-time, completely eliminating down time and data loss due to computer malfunctions.  By capturing every data change that occurs on a computer, TimeSpring is able to preserve the full history of information indefinitely, making it possible to recover to any point-in-time.  The innovative approach is as revolutionary as the shift from taking still pictures to creating full-motion videos, and provides businesses with tremendous peace of mind that their business critical information is always available and fully protected. 

Mr André Petitclerc, Vice President, Information Technology at Desjardins Venture Capital, said he is proud to be associating with TimeSpring. “The management team possesses a very high degree of expertise, which meets an important need in a quickly growing market,” he says. “The product developed by TimeSpring is reliable and we are very confident about its success,” he adds.

“BDC is proud to be a stakeholder in TimeSpring Software. The combined vision, experience and expertise of the managers leads us to believe that this company will pursue its development and surpass competing technological products in a market with promising prospects,” comments Frank Pho, General Manager, Information Technology, Business Development Bank of Canada.

“Our partnership with Desjardins Venture Capital and the BDC comes at a turning point in the evolution of our company,” says Mr Dan Friedlander, President of TimeSpring. “The upcoming launch of our product calls for a lot of strategic support, and Desjardins and the BDC are significant in this process,” he concludes.

About Desjardins Venture Capital

Established in 1974, Desjardins Venture Capital is the venture capital fund management arm of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins. It manages the assets of Desjardins, six Desjardins regional investment funds and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, a public fund created in 2001 whose authorized capitalization is $1.425-billion. More than a financial partner, Desjardins Venture Capital makes its network and expertise available for businesses in their startup, growth and expansion, as well as their plans for mergers, acquisitions or public offerings. More than 150 companies are already associated with Desjardins Venture Capital. (www.dcrdesjardins.com)

About the Business Development Bank of Canada

BDC Venture Capital is a large investor in the venture capital sector in Canada. Present at each stage of development of the business, from prestartup to expansion, BDC Venture Capital favours companies with a strong technological focus which demonstrate a high growth potential and which are on their way to becoming leading players in their markets. BDC Venture Capital has been operating in the venture capital sector since 1975, and has invested in more than 400 companies. Its venture capital investment portfolio presently totals $450 million, concentrated in the biotechnolgy, medical technology / health care, telecommunications, information technology and electronic sectors. Internet site:  www.bdc.ca

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For information:

Ms Danièle Routhier
Public Affairs Manager
Desjardins Venture Capital

Tel:  (514) 281-2211
Email:  daniele.routhier@dcrdesjardins.com

Ngoc-Hung Vu

Manager, Venture Capital

Business Development Bank of Canada

Tel:  (514) 283-2677

Email:  ngoc-hung.vu@bdc.ca

Mr Sunil Bagai

Vice-President of Product Management

TimeSpring Software Corporation

Tel: (514) 288-2278 ext. 210

Email: sunil.bagai@timespring.com

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