A Statement by the MaRS Board of Directors

MaRS was founded in 2001 by a visionary group of business, academic and community leaders. They took that action with one goal in view: to accelerate the development of knowledge-based businesses in Canada. Since its inception, MaRS has supported the commercialization of breakthrough discoveries and helped entrepreneurs start and grow a new generation of successful firms.

Today, MaRS has a global reputation and is widely recognized as a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurship. We operate as a non-profit, registered charity with strong performance targets. We are governed by a reputable Board of Directors, the clear majority of whom are private sector leaders. Gordon Nixon, CEO of RBC, is the current Chair.

Key MaRS Performance Measures:

• Independent impact studies conducted by KPMG show that MaRS has delivered more than $3 billion in economic impact since its launch.
• We have provided entrepreneurship education to more than 50,000 Ontarians.
• Young companies receiving advice and support from MaRS raised more than $1 billion in financing in the last 3 years, and generated more than $500 million in revenue.
• More than 2,000 events a year bring together 100,000+ attendees to accelerate innovation and strengthen our ecosystem.

The MaRS Centre
MaRS Phase I has been fully leased for several years and generates net rental revenues to support the MaRS mission.

Over the past year, we have been working with our partners to bridge short-term financial needs and bring additional capital into the Phase 2 project. No transaction has been finalized; therefore, there were no documents that should be in the public domain. When a transaction is completed we are confident it will meet all tests of serving the public interest. As per standard business practice and confidentiality agreements, we are not in a position to disclose any details of an ongoing negotiation.

The fact that these documents have been made public may, in fact, be harmful to the ultimate completion of the real estate transaction that is underway.

MaRS Board of Directors

John Evans, Chair Emeritus

Gordon Nixon, Chair

Hon. John P. Manley, Vice Chair

Elyse Allan

Lawrence S. Bloomberg

Elaine Campbell

Derek Evans

Richard W. Ivey

Geoffrey Matus

Michael H. McCain

Dr. Calvin R. Stiller

Dr. Ilse Treurnicht

Paul Young

About MaRS
MaRS Discovery District (Twitter: @MaRSDD) is a mission-driven innovation centre located in Toronto. MaRS works with partners to catalyze, accelerate and amplify innovation. MaRS supports entrepreneurs building Canada’s next generation of growth companies.

For more information, contact:

Charles Finley
VP, Marketing and Communications
MaRS Discovery District
cfinley@marsdd.com