Private Equity
Canada’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) these days has a full public policy agenda. Much of it is concerned with current or forthcoming federal and provincial programs to stimulate the venture capital market. The group also is keeping an eye on trends in international financial regulation. The CVCA's newly installed CEO Mike Woollatt, and CVCA advisor Richard Rémillard, who recently launched Rémillard Consulting Group, weigh in on today's policy agenda, top priorities and some issues that are appearing on the horizon.
8 min read · 30 June 2014
Canada’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) these days has a full public policy agenda. Much of it is concerned with current or forthcoming federal and provincial programs to stimulate the venture capital market. The group also is keeping an eye on trends in international financial regulation. The CVCA's newly installed CEO Mike Woollatt, and CVCA advisor Richard Rémillard, who recently launched Rémillard Consulting Group, weigh in on today's policy agenda, top priorities and some issues that are appearing on the horizon.
8 min read · 30 June 2014
The board of directors of the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ has appointed Gaétan Morin as the organization's new president and CEO. Morin, who has served in several executive roles since he joined the Fonds de solidarité FTQ in 1989, was most recently its executive vice president of corporate development and investment. He replaces Yvon Bolduc, who left the post in March. Morin was interviewed by peHUB Canada at the time of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ's 30th anniversary last year. Based in Montréal, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ manages net assets of $9.7 billion.
3 min read · 26 June 2014
Pythian, which in March raised $6 million in funding, has acquired Blackbird.io, a development and data services provider with headquarters in San Francisco. The financial terms of the transaction were not released. Pythian, an Ottawa-based data management consulting and services company, said the acquisition will make it the largest open-sourced database managed services business in the world. Pythian's backers are the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Royal Bank of Canada.
4 min read · 26 June 2014
Pythian, which in March raised $6 million in funding, has acquired Blackbird.io, a development and data services provider with headquarters in San Francisco. The financial terms of the transaction were not released. Pythian, an Ottawa-based data management consulting and services company, said the acquisition will make it the largest open-sourced database managed services business in the world. Pythian's backers are the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Royal Bank of Canada.
4 min read · 26 June 2014
Wmode Inc, a portfolio company of Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial, has bought NeoSystems Inc, a specialist in operations management based in Calgary. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Also based in Calgary, Wmode is a provider of app ecosystem software and services for cars, TVs, connected devices and enterprises. The company said that the NeoSystems acquisition increases its ability to provide scalable solutions and managed services to the growing mobile enterprise market. Wellington provided $6 million in debenture financing to Wmode in 2006.
3 min read · 26 June 2014
Wmode Inc, a portfolio company of Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial, has bought NeoSystems Inc, a specialist in operations management based in Calgary. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Also based in Calgary, Wmode is a provider of app ecosystem software and services for cars, TVs, connected devices and enterprises. The company said that the NeoSystems acquisition increases its ability to provide scalable solutions and managed services to the growing mobile enterprise market. Wellington provided $6 million in debenture financing to Wmode in 2006.
3 min read · 26 June 2014
BDC Venture Capital and Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator have formed a partnership to provide seed funding to Canadian health sciences startups. Accel-Rx, BDC and CDRD Ventures jointly will focus on company creation and the supply of resources needed for growth and development. The seed capital partnership with BDC will be the main funding mechanism, with selected Accel-Rx companies each receiving a $500,000 convertible note. The initial goal will be investments in up to four companies annually, with that number potentially increasing over time. Since 2012, BDC has provided $11 million in convertible notes funding to 74 information technology startups.
5 min read · 26 June 2014
BDC Venture Capital and Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator have formed a partnership to provide seed funding to Canadian health sciences startups. Accel-Rx, BDC and CDRD Ventures jointly will focus on company creation and the supply of resources needed for growth and development. The seed capital partnership with BDC will be the main funding mechanism, with selected Accel-Rx companies each receiving a $500,000 convertible note. The initial goal will be investments in up to four companies annually, with that number potentially increasing over time. Since 2012, BDC has provided $11 million in convertible notes funding to 74 information technology startups.
5 min read · 26 June 2014
Canadian technology-focused fund-of-funds manager Teralys Capital has partnered with the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ and BDC Venture Capital in backing U.S. life sciences venture capital firm Versant Ventures. Teralys committed $25 million to Versant, making its fifth investment in life sciences, an integral part of Teralys' and its partners' strategy to bolster the market ecosystem in Québec and across Canada. The three investor groups also plan to work with the firm on its recently launched drug discovery incubator Inception Sciences, located in Montréal. Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund also announced a $10 million commitment to Versant.
6 min read · 24 June 2014
