Medicago Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals company focused on developing novel vaccines and therapeutic proteins to address a broad range of infectious diseases, has received an extension of its C$15.3 million loan to 2017 from government-owned Investissement Québec. The publicly-listed, Québec City-based Medicago has been backed by several Canadian VC firms since the late 1990s. Company investors have included the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ).
4 min read · 08 February 2013
New York-based private equity firm Hale Capital Partners, which focuses in part on investments in mining development and commercial production, has increased its stake in United Silver Corp. of Vancouver, British Columbia. In addition to its 2012 transaction totaling C$6.3 million, Hale has acquired additional securities convertible into shares in the company. United Silver has interests and operations in the Crescent Silver Mine project in Idaho's Silver Belt.
4 min read · 07 February 2013
MaRS Cleantech Fund LP has led the first-time venture capital financing of CircuitMeter Inc., a Toronto, Ontario-based company startup and provider of low-cost, circuit-by-circuit metering solutions for commercial buildings to monitor and reduce energy costs. Other investors in the undisclosed deal included Robert Macintosh, co-founder of the Pembina Institute. MaRS Cleantech Fund, which is managed by MaRS Discovery District, has made four investments since the partnership was closed at C$30 million in early 2012.
3 min read · 07 February 2013
MaRS Innovation, which assists in the commercialization of promising research breakthroughs from 16 of Toronto’s top universities, institutions and research institutes, has raised C$15 million from government sources for its Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECRs) program. To date, CECRs have helped launch 94 companies and leverage almost C$270 million in partner contributions. MaRS Innovation has raised a total of C$65 million since its establishment in 2008.
4 min read · 07 February 2013
Cangene Corp., a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based developer and manufacturer of immune therapeutics, has acquired the hemophilia product portfolio of Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Inspiration, which has recently undergone bankruptcy proceedings, had been a portfolio company of Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings LP, a private equity firm focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Celtic estimates the aggregate consideration of the transaction could exceed US$1 billion.
2 min read · 07 February 2013
Latin American Minerals Inc., a Toronto, Ontario-based company focused on acquisition and development opportunities in the mining sectors of Central and South America, has received an investment from Canadian private equity firm Pinetree Capital. Upon completion of the transaction, Pinetree, which chiefly invests in mining and other resource companies, will have direct holdings in Latin American of up to 22.4% of all issued and outstanding common shares.
3 min read · 07 February 2013
A new Canadian private equity firm, Gustavson Capital Corp. (GCC), has been launched by Peter Gustavson, founder of Custom House Ltd., to invest in small and mid-market companies. The Victoria, BC-based GCC will invest up to C$5 million in businesses in diverse sectors, and which are focused on growth, making acquisitions or reorganization. GCC’s current portfolio includes four companies: Blue Sky Digital Media Ltd., an LED technology and advertising company, Diversified Health Clinic Ltd., Marv Holland Apparel Ltd., an apparel manufacturer and distributor, and Mexia Interactive Ltd., a digital marketing solutions provider.
3 min read · 07 February 2013
Influitive Inc., a Toronto-based company which helps businesses improve their marketing and sales effectiveness, acquired startup Engagio Inc., which features a social web platform for searching, discovering and following social conversations. The financial terms of the transaction were not published. Influitive was founded in 2012 with the backing of Canadian and US venture capital firms, including Accelerator Ventures, First Round Capital, Golden Venture Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Illuminate Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Relay Ventures, Resolute.VC and other investors.
3 min read · 07 February 2013
US private equity firm Eureka Growth Capital acquired the Law School Publishing (LSP) business of Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB Canada) for an undisclosed amount. The deal, done in partnership with LSP senior management, was undertaken through a newly-formed newly-formed affiliate, the Eagan, Minnesota-based West Academic Publishing, which provides legal textbooks, casebooks, study guides and other course-related materials in both print and digital media formats. The acquisition closed in February, 2013.
3 min read · 07 February 2013
Waltham, Massachusetts's Alere Inc. completed a performance-based acquisition of Epocal Inc., a developer of technologies that support blood gas and electrolyte testing. Alere, which will pay up to US$241.5 million, entered into the transaction with Epocal in 2009, making the purchase conditional on the company's achievement of gross margin and other financial milestones by October, 2014. The Ottawa, Ontario-based Epocal has been venture-backed since its founding in 2001. The company's investors include Canadian venture capital firms Covington Funds, Genesys Capital Partners and MMV Capital Partners.
2 min read · 07 February 2013
