NexC Partners Corp. announces it has agreed to sell all of its shares in Purpose Investments Inc. to Purpose and declares a Special Dividend

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 25, 2017) - Purpose Investments Inc. ("Purpose" or the "Manager") and NexC Partners Corp. ("NexC" or the "Company") (TSX: NXC) would like to announce that NexC has sold all of its shares in Purpose, a private company holding, back to Purpose.

NexC was established in February 2013 with the goal of providing its shareholders with an investment in a high quality portfolio of North American dividend-paying equity securities, plus the opportunity to participate as a small equity shareholder of Purpose, which at that time was a start-up asset management business founded by Som Seif. NexC has provided a total return since inception of 69.69% and an annual compounded total return of 13.21% for the Class A shares and a total return of 76.30% and an annual compounded total return of 14.23% for the Class F shares as of May 24, 2017. Since the launch of NexC, the value of Purpose Investments has grown to excess of 16% of the Company's net asset value. NexC has also paid out total dividends from inception on the Class A shares and Class F shares of $2.33 per share.

In considering the decision to sell its stake in Purpose, the independent members of the Board of Directors of NexC considered a number of factors including: i) the ability to realize full liquidity on its investment in Purpose, a private company, at an attractive price; ii) the opportunity to monetize a holding that, due to the success of Purpose as a business, had grown to become a very large proportion of the overall Company's NAV; and iii) the ability to provide NexC investors with a significant gain in the form of a special cash dividend, in order to reward investors for their commitment to the Company.

The independent members of the Board of Directors of NexC reviewed the proposed transaction and approved the transaction subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement. The Manager referred the transaction to the Company's Independent Review Committee ("IRC") for its consideration and the IRC provided a positive recommendation on the basis that the sale of the shares is fair and reasonable to NexC.

The Board of Directors has further decided to pay out the proceeds from the sale of the Purpose stake held by NexC and has declared a special dividend of $2.31 per Class A share and $2.42 per Class F share payable on June 12, 2017 to holders of record on June 5, 2017. The special dividend will be designated as a capital gains dividend for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any similar provincial and territorial legislation.

About Purpose Investments

Purpose Investments is an asset management firm inspired by the belief that all investors should have access to great investment products along with low fees. Purpose believes in focusing first on managing risk and creating value that is currently missing from the marketplace, thus empowering all Canadians to be better investors. Purpose has over $3.3 billion in assets under management and currently offers 33 exchange traded funds and mutual funds and 6 closed-end funds across multiple asset classes and both traditional and alternative investment strategies.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investment fund investments. Please read the prospectus and other disclosure documents before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including change in share/unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government deposit insurer. There can be no assurance that the full amount of your investment in a fund will be returned to you. If the securities are purchased or sold on a stock exchange, you may pay more or receive less than the current net asset value. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.