Private Equity
Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ has joined with TVM Capital Life Science and U.S.-based Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp to invest in the establishment of PRCL Research Inc. The investment's value was not disclosed. Based in Montréal, PRCL Research is a special purpose company that develops pharmaceutical assets from the pre-clinical stage up to human proof-of-concept in single asset entities. Funding proceeds will be used to support its development with Synta of an oral treatment for psoriasis based on molecules developed by Synta and licensed to PRCL. Headquartered in Montréal, Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests growth capital in companies primarily located in Québec.
3 min read · 22 May 2014
BDC Venture Capital and GrowthWorks have received the 2014 "Deal of the Year" award in the venture capital category from Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. They won for their return on investment in Layer 7 Technologies Inc, a Vancouver-based provider of application programming interface management and security bought by CA Technologies Inc in 2013. On their investment, BDC and GrowthWorks have realized cash proceeds of US$78 million to date. The multiple of capital on the original investment on a cash realized basis is 4.4x, or a 23.2% IRR, and is expected to be 5.2x on a total basis once all proceeds are released from escrow, for a 25.6% IRR.
4 min read · 22 May 2014
Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and Thomson Reuters have announced the results of Canadian venture capital market activity in the first quarter of 2014. The report found $378 million of VC invested in total in this period, up 2% from the same time last year. Financing rounds, totaling 122 in Q1 2014, rose a more substantial 16%. Slightly higher dollar flows owed to major deals, including those backing Edmonton's Aurinia, Vancouver's BuildDirect, and Dorval, Québec's Clementia. The fundraising of Canadian VC firms also increased in the first three months of the year, with $531 million committed in total, or 10% more year over year. A full report of Canadian VC market trends in Q1 2014 can be found here.
4 min read · 20 May 2014
FastCAP Exploration Technologies Ltd, a subsidiary of FastCAP Systems Corp, has acquired key technology, assets and team members of Calmena Energy Services Inc’s directional drilling technologies. According to the Calgary-based Calmena, the consideration comprised US$1 million in cash and the provision of US$1.2 million in kind. Based in Boston, FastCAP is a manufacturer of energy storage equipment for fleet vehicles. Since its founding in 2008, the company has received funding from several sources, including U.S. clean energy lender WindSail Capital Group. Calmena is a diversified oilfield services company.
2 min read · 20 May 2014
Chaordix Inc has acquired Napkin Labs for an undisclosed amount. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Napkin Labs is a crowdsourcing technology company. Chaordix, which uses the power of crowdsourcing to help enterprises gain community engagement and predictive intelligence, said the deal will bring a new level of sophistication to its platform. Founded in 2009 and based in Calgary, Chaordix has been a portfolio investment of Canadian venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) since 2012. Napkin Labs has also been backed by venture capital and angel investors.
3 min read · 16 May 2014
A new PwC Canada report has found that owners and operators of Canadian startups are not thinking about long-term growth, but are instead focused on being bought. PwC’s 11th annual Emerging Companies Survey found that 78% of respondents are looking at some sort of exit strategy, with nearly two-thirds considering an acquisition. Far fewer respondents, or 7% of the total, are looking at going public. Businesses also are seeking to exit quickly, with 40% of survey respondents saying that they plan to leave the market in one to three years.
4 min read · 15 May 2014
Retail venture capital fund GrowthWorks Canadian Fund has entered into an a court-approved investment adviser agreement with Roseway Capital. Under the agreement's terms, Roseway will act as adviser and make investment and divestment decisions regarding the fund's portfolio. The GrowthWorks fund will pursue an orderly disposition of its assets with a view to satisfying its payment obligations to Roseway and unsecured creditors. Total indebtedness owing to Roseway is approximately $18.9 million.
4 min read · 15 May 2014
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and the Canadian Business Youth Foundation have announced that Alberta's Ryan Jackson is the inaugural winner of the 2014 BDC Mentorship Award. Jackson is the principal and managing director of RAMECO Consulting Group and the former Entrepreneur in Residence at Medicine Hat College. The BDC Mentorship Award is one of four new awards launched by BDC this year to promote and recognize Canadian entrepreneurs in four key areas: mentorship, innovation, resiliency and entrepreneurship champion.
3 min read · 14 May 2014
ExpertFile has secured $1 million in seed-stage financing. The deal included participation by investors from Canadian angel groups Angel One Investor Network, Golden Triangle Angel Network, Maple Leaf Angels and the Georgian Angel Network. Funding proceeds will be used to help ExpertFile accelerate growth in the North American market and strengthen its sales, marketing and customer team. Founded in 2012, the Toronto-based company provides content marketing software used by organizations to manage their experts and thought leaders. It is also backed by boutique technology investor Verdexus, which invested in ExpertFile last November.
3 min read · 14 May 2014
PasswordBox Inc, a password manager that allows users to securely store, retrieve, create and share passwords on any device, has appointed Richard Reiner as the company's president. Reiner formerly led cloud computing and cloud security provider Enomaly (acquired in 2011) and IT security services and products provider Assurent (acquired in 2006). Founded in 2012, the Montréal-based PasswordBox last year closed a US$6 million Series A financing round led by Canadian venture capital firm OMERS Ventures. The company also has an office in San Francisco.
4 min read · 14 May 2014
