NEWS RELEASE
| HARRIS & HARRIS GROUP, INC. |
MARCH 26, 2002 |
| ONE ROCKEFELLER PLAZA |
|
| NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10020 |
|
| NASDAQ/NMS SYMBOL: HHGP |
|
| CONTACT: CHARLES E. HARRIS |
|
| TEL. NO. (212) 332-3606 |
|
Harris & Harris Group Proposes Name Change to Small-Technology Venture Capital, Inc.
Harris & Harris Group, Inc. announced today that its board of directors will submit to shareholders for approval at the 2002 Annual Meeting a proposal to change the name of the Company to Small-Technology Venture Capital, Inc. The date of the 2002 Annual Meeting has not been set.
The Company's management and board believes that the name, "Small-Technology Venture Capital, Inc.," now best describes the Company's business. The Company will continue to function as a publicly traded venture capital firm specializing in early-stage, high technology companies commercializing proprietary intellectual property. But earlier in 2002, the Company announced that it will now focus its new business activities exclusively on small technology (small tech), including nanotechnology, microsystems and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
In 1994, the Company invested in its first small-tech company, Nanophase Technologies Corporation, a spinoff from Argonne National Laboratory, which subsequently completed an initial public offering in 1997. The Company sold its interest in Nanophase in 2001 and invested part of the proceeds of the sale in August, 2001, in privately held Nantero, Inc., a Harvard University spinoff developing advanced memory devices using carbon nanotubes. In February, 2002, the Company invested in privately held Nanopharma Corp., a research-based Massachusetts General Hospital spinoff founded to develop advanced drug delivery systems. On March 13, 2002, the Company also noted its investment in NEO Photonics Corporation, a privately held producer of novel materials compositions to enable a unique optical integration platform. In March, 2002, the Company also elected two new directors to its board, Dr. Kelly S. Kirkpatrick and Lori D. Pressman, whose professional backgrounds are particularly well suited to the Company's small-tech focus.
Harris & Harris Group is a Business Development Company with 8,864,231 common shares outstanding.
Detailed information about Harris & Harris Group and its holdings can also be found on its website at www.hhgp.com.
This press release may contain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events. Statements contained in this press release that are forward looking statements are intended to be made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs, and a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in this press release. Please see the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties associated with venture capital investing and other significant factors that could affect the Company's actual results. Except as otherwise required by Federal securities laws, Harris & Harris Group, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward looking statements to reflect new events or uncertainties.
