Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Tactics Cloud, which is affiliated with network intelligence start-up Affinio Inc, has secured $1.5 million in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Build Ventures. Founded last year, Tactics Cloud provides sales and marketing insights using social and business data to help identify individuals and groups with common skills, interests, and relationships. The company's product will begin its beta test in November, with expectation of a full launch in early 2014. The Atlantic Canada-focused Build Ventures was launched in May 2013 with a fund of close to $50 million.
3 min read · 30 October 2013
AMETEK, a maker of electronic instruments and electro-mechanical devices, has completed its buy of Creaform for approximately $120 million. The sellers were Novacap and Desjardins Venture Capital. GMP Securities advised Novacap and Desjardins Venture Capital in the transaction. Headquartered in Quebec, Creaform is a maker of portable 3D measurement technologies.
3 min read · 30 October 2013
National Vision Inc is exploring a sale that could value the fourth largest retailer of eyeglasses and contact lenses in the United States at around $1 billion, three people familiar with the matter said this week, sister news service Reuters
2 min read · 30 October 2013
Blackstone Group began marketing the first-ever US home-rental asset-backed security (ABS) on Wednesday, with some 300 potential investors expected in New York to peruse the nearly $480 million deal, sister publication IFR reported.
1 min read · 30 October 2013
Shares of Surgical Care Affiliates Inc, a provider of outpatient surgery facilities, rose as much as 19 percent in their trading debut, valuing the company at about $1.08 billion, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 30 October 2013
Madame Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainments expects to be valued at as much as 3.3 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) when it makes its London stock market debut next month, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 30 October 2013
Toronto-based alternative assets manager Brookfield Asset Management said Wednesday that it has held the final close on its second infrastructure partnership, Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II, raising equity commitments totaling US$7 billion. This exceeds the fund's original US$5 billion target. The pool, which has over 60 institutional investors, will focus on transportation, renewable power, utilities and energy assets in North and South America, Europe and Australasia. Update: The latest partnership follows on the US$2.7 billion Brookfield Americas Infrastructure Fund LP, which closed in 2010.
2 min read · 30 October 2013
Woodstock, New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications Inc, a rural broadband service provider, has raised $158 million in additional financing from new and existing investors. The funding, which consists of $148 million of new debt and equity and $10 million in refinanced debt, will be used to support the company's subscriber growth and to enhance its broadband network to meet demand. Founded in 2004, Xplornet is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firms Sandler Capital Management and Catalyst Investors, Canadian firm Werklund Capital Corp, and other private investors.
3 min read · 29 October 2013
Calgary-based Genalta Power Inc, a company focused on converting waste energy into power applications, has secured $5 million in funding from Kensington Power Income Fund. This is the first investment made by the Kensington fund, managed by Toronto-based Kensington Capital Partners to invest in small distributed generation power facilities that provide electricity from clean technologies. Genalta has been a portfolio company of Canadian specialty investment firm Crown Capital Partners since late 2012.
2 min read · 29 October 2013
Montréal-based ProSep Inc (TSX: PRP) has obtained protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, as well as approval from the Superior Court of Québec concerning its previously announced acquisition by Produced Water Absorbents Inc (PWA) for $9.2 million. The acquisition is expected to close no later than November 22, 2013. PropSep, a developer of process solutions to the upstream oil and gas industry, is a portfolio company of Cycle Capital Management, Fondaction CSN and other investors, while the Houston, Texas-based PWA is backed by Norway's Energy Ventures and U.S.-based Harris and Harris Group.
6 min read · 29 October 2013
