Institutional investors have forsaken the venture capital market in the wake of the tech bubble bursting 13 years ago.
1 min read · 24 May 2013
Toronto-based mid-market private equity firm Signal Hill Equity Partners has opened a new office in Calgary, Alberta as part of a strategic initiative to increase its presence in Western Canada. The firm has also hired Stephen Hughes, who has a background in the oil and gas sector, as vice president and overseer of Calgary operations, and dedicated additional equity capital for deal-making in the region.
2 min read · 22 May 2013
Venture capital firm AmorChem and technology transfer and commercialization hub Univalor have made an undisclosed re-investment in a project led by Dr. Nabil Seidah of the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM). The project, which was launched last year, is focused on drug discovery related to the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. AmorChem has since 2011 made seed-stage life sciences investments intended to help commercialize academic research carried out in Québec.
5 min read · 22 May 2013
Pinetree Capital, a Toronto-based private equity firm specializing in investments in natural resource sectors, has acquired securities of Wolfpack Gold Corp., a company which advances underground gold projects towards production in the western United States. The transaction occurred via a reverse take-over by the company of Tigris Uranium Corp. As a result, Pinetree holds approximately 12.2% of all of the Vancouver-based Wolfpack's issued and outstanding common shares.
2 min read · 22 May 2013
Calgary, Alberta's Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd., a designer, manufacturer and distributor of power inverters for grid-connected solar PV systems, has had its $1.5 million standby equity commitment from British venture capital firm Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures extended to May 2014. Doughty Hanson has backed the company since 2009.
2 min read · 21 May 2013
Mountain View, California-based Adaptive Planning Inc., a maker of cloud-based business analytics software, has secured US$45 million in funding in a deal led by U.S. venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners. Bessemer was joined by the company's existing investors, which include Canadian firm RBC Venture Partners, a backer of Adaptive Planning since 2008.
6 min read · 21 May 2013
Québec City-based LeddarTech Inc., a developer of 3D detection technology for traffic management, has completed a $2.5 million round of financing led by Canadian venture capital firms GO Capital and BDC Venture Capital, and including participation from iSource, Accès Capital and Desjardins-Innovatech. LeddarTech first received venture financing in 2007, though the company's investors were not disclosed.
2 min read · 21 May 2013
Twin Rivers Paper Company Inc., a specialty paper manufacturer with mill operations in Madawaska, Maine, and Edmundston, New Brunswick, and a lumber sawmill in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, is to be bought for an undisclosed amount by U.S. buyout firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Atlas Holdings. The seller of the company, which emerged from a bankruptcy in 2010, was Brookfield Asset Management. The majority interest deal is expected to be closed in a few weeks.
5 min read · 21 May 2013
San Diego-based Ambit Biosciences Corp., which discovers, develops and commercializes drugs to treat needs in oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, has priced its initial public offering at US$8.00 per share. Listing on NASDAQ under the symbol "AMBI," the company plans to raise US$65 million. Ambit has since 2000 been backed by U.S. and Canadian venture capital firms, including Apposite Capital, Avalon Ventures, Forward Ventures, Genechem, GIMV, GrowthWorks, Horizon, MedImmune, NovaQuest, OrbiMed Advisors, Perseus-Soros, Radius Ventures and Roche Venture Fund.
2 min read · 21 May 2013
Relay Ventures has been in the thick of North American mobile deal-making since its launch in 2012. In 2013, it might have found its most promising deal yet in Toronto digital media startup theScore.
4 min read · 21 May 2013
