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FUND MANAGERS, INVESTORS AND GOVERNMENT LEADERS MEET IN JOHANNESBURG TO PUT $5B IN LOCAL PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS TO WORK, ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT

June 20, 2003 (Johannesburg, South Africa) – Fund managers, investors, entrepreneurs and government ministers met in Johannesburg this week at the annual Northstar Global Partner’s Forum 2003 to discuss investment opportunities and fund management strategies in the unique environment of Africa. Attendees and speakers including Allan Bufferd, Treasurer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ian Morley, Chairman of UK hedge fund Dawnay Day Olympia; and Dr. Tebogo Matome, CEO of the Botswana Stock Exchange, gathered at the Hilton Sandton in Johannesburg for Funds World Africa 2003.

The event was presented by Northstar Global Partners, an investment bank with offices in Boston, Munich and Zurich, in partnership with international event planner Terrapinn.
The conference addressed ways to reshape and energize the economic development of Africa and other promising areas of the continent, including creating an environment that stimulates entrepreneurship, technology development and capital investment. Attendees also discussed the steps governments must take to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) and the role national stock exchanges will play in stimulating investment fund activity.

There are currently about 47 venture capital and private equity funds operating out of South Africa, with more than $5 billion (R40 billion) under management. African funds tend to industry-specific and export-focused, featuring shorter investment horizons than U.S. and European funds.

However, substantial investment activity is also being driven by organized and active angel investors putting familial wealth to work. “We were pleasantly surprised to meet with so many private investors looking for international opportunities and better deal flow to diversify their portfolios beyond South Africa,” said Ed Mullen, conference chair and Chairman of Northstar Global Partners. “In addition to helping their own countries develop, African investors are looking to partake in the growth of U.S. and European companies and technologies.”

One overarching theme of the conference involved the development of strong tertiary education as a necessary ingredient of economic growth. “The major source of intellectual capital is research universities, which through their informal networks and strategic alliances with industry, build one of the important bases to drive the complex system,” Bufferd said, using his employer, MIT, as an example of the impact a major university can have on the surrounding business community. However, Bufferd cautioned that such development can take 50 years – and that’s only if all of the elements, including leadership, are present in the right combination.

As South Africa develops the intellectual capital to support burgeoning security, software and technology industries, the country is continuing to capitalize on rich natural resources, including copper, gold, diamonds and chrome

Johannesburg provided an incredible venue for the conference, as attendees took advantage of the central location to organize side trips to the spectacular vineyards of Capetown and wildlife safaris in the world-famous Kruger Park.

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About Northstar Global Partners
Northstar Global Partners, LLC, an investment bank with offices in Boston, Munich and Zurich, specializes in providing sophisticated corporate finance and M&A services to middle market and emerging growth companies in the United States and Europe.

The company uses its international network of contacts to assist clients in identifying and meeting their business goals by: obtaining debt or equity capital to grow their businesses, developing strategic partnerships, acquiring complimentary businesses, divesting ancillaryor underperforming businesses, and developing and executing investment strategies for individual and institutional investors.