Toronto-based SiteScout Inc, a self-serve platform for buying banner ads on the web and on mobile devices, has been acquired by Centro LLC, a Chicago, Ill.-based provider of cloud-based software to simplify digital media operations. While the terms of the deal were not published, one source reports the purchase price to be US$40 million. In June 2013, SiteScout bought the intellectual property assets of venture-backed online ad exchange AdBrite Inc of San Francisco. Centro raised US$22.5 million in a first-time venture capital funding round in late 2010.
4 min read · 06 November 2013
Calgary-based Twin Butte Energy Ltd (TSX: TBE) has closed its previously announced acquisition of oil and gas producing company Black Shire Energy Inc for $358 million, which includes the assumption of $108 million in debt. Calgary's Black Shire, which is focused on its Provost oil field project in eastern Alberta, was formed in 2010 with the backing of U.S. energy-focused private equity firm Lime Rock Partners. With the closing of the transaction, Lime Rock holds a minority investment stake in Twin Butte.
8 min read · 06 November 2013
Northleaf Capital Partners, a private equity and infrastructure fund manager and advisor, has announced the initial close of its private equity secondaries fund, Northleaf Secondary Partners, at US$206 million in total, surpassing its US$200 million target. The final close of the fund, which was launched to capitalize on opportunities in the global secondaries market, is expected to happen in December 2013. With headquarters in Toronto, Northleaf manages $5 billion in assets on behalf of pension funds, university endowments and foundations, family offices and other institutional investors.
3 min read · 06 November 2013
Shares of Barracuda Networks Inc, a data storage and internet security company, jumped as much as 32 percent in their debut, underscoring a growing interest in the red-hot cyber security market, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 06 November 2013
Germany’s Siemens agreed to sell the bulk of its water technology business to private equity group AEA Investors for 640 million euros ($862.4 million), sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 06 November 2013
Toronto-based private equity firm Northleaf Capital Partners has raised $206 million for its private equity secondaries fund. This figure surpasses the fund's initial $200 million target. According to the firm, the fund plans on doing a final close in December 2013.
2 min read · 06 November 2013
Analyze Re announced this week that it has raised a $1.4 million round of financing from a group of investors, including Canadian venture capital firms Innovacorp, BDC Venture Capital and Rho Canada Ventures. It is the company's first disclosed funding. Founded in 2013, the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Analyze Re has developed a data analysis platform to aid risk management decisions in the reinsurance industry. Proceeds of the investment will go toward the company's plans to complete product development and build its customer base worldwide.
2 min read · 05 November 2013
Canadian mid-market private equity firm Fulcrum Capital Partners has sold Alumicor Ltd, a Toronto-based finisher and fabricator of aluminum frames for window, storefront, entrance and curtainwall products, to Apogee Enterprises Inc (Nasdaq: APOG) for US$52 million. The all-cash deal will provide Canadian market growth and new product introductions to Apogee, a provider of glass solutions for the architectural and picture-framing industries. Alumicor was acquired by Fulcrum in July 2007. Earlier this year, Fulcrum sold another portfolio company, Pompano Beach, Florida-based Qzina Specialty Foods North America, for US$32.7 million.
5 min read · 05 November 2013
Atlantic Express Transportation Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a court filing showed, as the school bus operator faces a union battle, weak earnings, and cash shortage, sister news service Reuters reported.
1 min read · 05 November 2013
LiveQoS said Tuesday that it has secured $4 million in Series C financing. Canadian venture capital firm Miralta Capital led the round. Based in Ottawa, LiveQoS is the maker of IPQ, a framework that maximizes the quality of controlled and uncontrolled networks according to link conditions and application requirements. Update: The company, which was formerly known as IPeak Networks, in October 2013 acquired Ottawa-based Openera Inc, a cross-cloud content manager that was also venture-backed.
2 min read · 05 November 2013
