Ontario Hose Specialties closes US$40 million private placement

On February 6, 2007, Ontario Hose Specialties Inc. announced that it had closed its previously announced private placement. The private placement was led by Orion Securities Inc. and included Salman Partners Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation and Haywood Securities Inc., and consisted of 61,457,000 subscription receipts at a price of $0.65 per subscription receipt for gross proceeds of approximately $40 million. The gross proceeds from the private placement will be held in escrow pending the closing of Ontario Hose Specialties' previously announced acquisition from Signature Capital Corporation of all of Signature's right, title and interest in and to a certain farm in agreement between Signature and Vermilion REP SAS, relating to the Aquitaine Maritime Exploration Permit located offshore of Bordeaux, France. Proceeds from the private placement, and the Company's existing cash resources, will be used to fund the Company's anticipated acquisition. The acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including (a) approval by the appropriate regulatory authorities in France; (b) regulatory and shareholder approval; (c) completion of a financing of not less than $23.5 million by the Company; and (d) closing of the acquisition on or before March 28, 2007. Ontario Hose was advised in this matter by Fasken Martineau with a team comprised Iain Mant, Melody Schalm, Karima Penman and John Sabetti.