Private Equity
Kinaxis Inc has filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators concerning a proposed initial public offering and secondary offering of its common shares. The IPO was previously reported by the Wall Street Journal, which quoted sources saying that Kinaxis intended to raise more than $100 million. The Ottawa-based company is a provider of cloud-based subscription software. Founded in 1984, it has been backed by Canadian and U.S. venture capital and private equity firms, including GE Capital, Intel Capital and TechnoCap. Kinaxis is currently a portfolio company of HarbourVest Partners.
2 min read · 05 May 2014
Canadian commercialization agent MaRS Innovation has welcomed the Ontario government's commitment to a new $30 million life sciences seed venture capital fund, which was recently announced in the 2014 Ontario budget. The fund is a partnership between the provincial government, the private sector and hospital foundations that will focus on investing in Ontario-based, early-stage life sciences companies. Located within the Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District, MaRS Innovation commercializes opportunities emerging from 16 leading academic institutions.
3 min read · 02 May 2014
Toronto-based startup Shoebox, formerly known as MyShoeBox, has secured $1.2 million in seed-stage funding. Earlier reports of the deal were confirmed with peHUB Canada by Robert Simon, senior managing partner of BDC IT Venture Fund. Simon said BDC led the round and was joined by Canadian angel investor Marzio Pozzuoli, past president and CEO of venture-backed communications equipment maker RuggedCom. Founded in 2012, Shoebox is the creator of a photo storage app and is a graduate of Extreme Startups' acceleration program.
2 min read · 02 May 2014
Online retailer SHOP.CA Network Inc has secured $31 million in a Series B financing round. The round includes new investor Shaw Ventures, the investment arm of Canadian telecom company Shaw Communications Inc and several North American financial institutions. SHOP.CA's existing investors Torstar Corp, Slaight Communications and Difference Capital, and company team members also participated in the round. Funding will be used to build SHOP.CA's proprietary technology stack, add to its merchant network, enrich its customer loyalty initiatives and execute on partnership opportunities. Over the last two years, SHOP.CA has raised $52 million, including the current round. Founded in 2012, the company is based in Toronto.
3 min read · 01 May 2014
Boris Wertz, general partner at Vancouver-based Version One Ventures, a micro fund focused on early-stage consumer Internet, e-commerce, SaaS and mobile companies, has joined U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a partner. Andreessen Horowitz, which recently raised US$1.5 billion for its fourth fund, announced the move on its blog. The firm said that Wertz will continue to invest from his own fund.
1 min read · 01 May 2014
Indicee Inc has been bought by Dun & Bradstreet Corp (NYSE: DNB). The acquisition price was not disclosed. Founded in 2006, the Vancouver-based Indicee has developed a cloud-based platform that helps businesses of all types bring disparate data and intelligence together quickly and efficiently. Dun & Bradstreet said Indicee would form part of its Cloud Innovation Center and leverage new ways to deliver the company's proprietary data and analytics. The deal gives exits to Canadian venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners and U.S. firm Granite Ventures. Yaletown helped seed the company in 2008 and participated with Granite in Indicee's US$6 million Series A financing round in 2009.
4 min read · 30 April 2014
Ecologic Brands Inc, an Oakland, California-based maker of recycled paper bottles, has raised US$7 million in funding. The company's investors include Kruger Inc, a Montréal-based manufacturer of publication papers, tissue, lumber and other wood products, and Angel Investors, DBL Investors, Catamount Ventures and Black Bear Partners. As part of its strategic investment agreement, Kruger will become the exclusive licensee and manufacturer of Ecologic’s technology in Canada. Since commercializing its first paper bottle in 2011, the company has produced and shipped millions of bottles to 15 brand partners around the world.
4 min read · 30 April 2014
WorkFusion, formerly known as CrowdComputing Systems, has secured US$15 million in a Series B financing round. The deal was led by U.S. venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures, with participation from Canadian firm iNovia Capital, one of WorkFusion's existing investors. Other backers included Greycroft Partners and RTP Ventures. Mohr Davidow's Katherine Barr, who was earlier this month interviewed by peHUB Canada, will join the company's board of directors. Based in New York, WorkFusion has developed a SaaS machine learning platform that automates repetitive tasks and provides workforce analytics. The company's Series A round, closed in 2013, was led by iNovia.
4 min read · 29 April 2014
Canadian biotechnology company AbCelex Technologies Inc has secured $2 million in a Series A financing round. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, which is focused on investing in agriculture and industrial biotechnology sectors. Investment proceeds will be used to support research and development of AbCelex's antibody-based approach to controlling pathogens in farm animals that are related to food-borne illnesses. Concurrent with the deal, Ron Meeusen and Matthew Bell of Cultivian Sandbox have joined the company's board of directors. Founded in 2010, AbCelex is based in Toronto.
5 min read · 28 April 2014
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) three years ago embarked on a new venture capital strategy that has placed it at the centre of many key trends now taking place in the Canadian market — the introduction of VCAP, improving fund-raising conditions, growth in angel and accelerator communities, and the emergence of more high-growth startups. Jérôme Nycz is BDC's executive vice-president of subordinate financing and venture capital. Last week, Jérôme gave a speech to the Research Money Conference about the rapidly changing face of the Canadian VC landscape and the role that the new BDC is playing in this regard.
10 min read · 28 April 2014
