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Doughty Hanson ups equity stake in Eguana Technologies

British venture capital firm Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures has increased its equity position in Eguana Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EGT), formerly known as Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd., a manufacturer of power conversion and control systems for energy storage applications. Approximately $500,000 was invested to acquire 4,750,000 common shares via the exercise of existing warrants. Following completion of the deal, Doughty Hanson held 23% of shares of the Calgary-based Eguana.

Minitrade.ca scores $630K seed round to retail discount clothing for kids

Montréal-based Minitrade.ca, an online retailer of used children's clothing, has secured $630,000 in seed financing. Funds were provided by venture capital firm Ferst Capital Partners, FIER FSR, and a number of entrepreneurial investors, including Martin Aubut of L'Oréal Canada, Pierre Delagrave and Malik Yacoubi of Cossette Communications, Martin-Luc Archambault of Wajam, and Daniel Robichaud of Password Box. Founded in 2012, Minitrade.ca reports an increase of active Canadian members on its site to 6,000 in one year.

Canadian M&A activity up in second quarter, but still tepid

Canadian mergers and acquisitions showed a "modest rebound" in the second quarter, reports Crosbie & Company. The Financial Post Crosbie: Mergers & Acquisitions in Canada database found 234 transactions announced in this period, which is up 9.4% from Q1 2013, and values totaling $44.7 billion, up 52%. Crosbie says that while growth "was not overwhelming, it represents a break from a declining multi-quarter trend and a return to a more normal range of quarterly activity." See peHUB Canada's feature on the implications to private equity investors of slow M&A activity.

BEST Funds leads $3.5 mln funding of crisis communications specialist ERMS

Oakville, Ontario-based ERMS Corp., a specialist in emergency mass notification systems, has completed a second round of financing totaling $3.5 million from its existing investors. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm BEST Funds. Investment proceeds will be used to increase the company's brand awareness and share in global markets, as well as infrastructure growth and accelerated product development. ERMS was founded in 2002 by crisis management and business continuity professionals.

Fairfax, one other, approached investors on BlackBerry: source - Reuters

BlackBerry's biggest shareholder has approached several large Canadian investment funds about forging a deal to take the smartphone maker private, but the proposal is still "an airy-fairy, 'what if' kind of thing," according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., has a 10 percent stake. The funds, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, declined to comment.