BMO's Technology and Innovation Banking group has provided US$37 million of debt financing to Kony, an Austin, Texas-based digital and mobile application development company. The investment includes US$10 million of new financing. The proceeds will be used by Kony to accelerate the growth of Kony DBX, a digital banking solutions platform, and Kony Quantum, a low-code solutions platform. Kony secured about US$112 million prior to the BMO deal, according to Refinitiv. That includes 2014's US$50 million round led by SoftBank Capital and Insight Venture Partners, and joined by Georgian Partners and others.
4 min read · 30 July 2019
CIBC Innovation Banking has provided $4.6 million (US$3.5 million) of debt financing to Invixium, a Toronto-based maker of biometric solutions for access control and workforce digitalization. The company will use the proceeds to support its growth plans. Founded in 2012 by CEO Shiraz Kapadia, Invixium develops biometric security solutions utilizing face, finger vein and fingerprint recognition. It serves a range of enterprises and industries for indoor and outdoor deployment in rugged environments. Earlier this year, Invixium raised a Series B financing led by Connecticut Innovations and joined by existing investors McRock Capital and BDC Capital. CIBC Innovation Banking is the technology lending arm of CIBC.
3 min read · 30 July 2019
U.S. private investment firm Lindsay Goldberg earlier this month agreed to acquire Creation Technologies LP, a Vancouver-based provider of design and production solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). No financial terms were disclosed. The main seller is Canadian mid-market private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, which first backed Creation in 2007 with a $65 million investment. Founded in 1991, Creation serves OEM customers in the industrial and instrumentation, medical, communications, transportation, aerospace, defense and security, and energy and environmental markets. It is led by President and CEO Ashley Dafel. Earlier this year, Birch Hill sold Sigma Systems to Hansen Technologies.
3 min read · 29 July 2019
Swedish private equity firm EQT and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have agreed to acquire a majority stake in Waystar, a Louisville, Kentucky-based provider of revenue-cycle technology. The deal, expected to close later this year, values Waystar at US$2.7 billion. The seller is Bain Capital Private Equity, which will retain a minority stake in the company. Formed through a merger transaction in 2017, Waystar provides software to manage revenue for more than 450,000 healthcare providers, 750 health systems and hospitals, and 5,000 payers and health plans.
6 min read · 29 July 2019
MMGY Global has acquired NEXTFactor Enterprises Inc, a Vancouver-based strategic planning and consulting business focused on the travel and tourism industry. No financial terms were disclosed. NEXTFactor has been renamed MMGY NextFactor. President Paul Ouimet, who founded NEXTFactor in 2015, and his team will remain with the company. MMGY Global, a Kansas City, Missouri-based marketing services provider, said the deal facilitates its entry into the Canadian market. MMGY Global has been backed since 2016 by U.S. mid-market private equity firm Peninsula Capital Partners.
3 min read · 29 July 2019
Eideticom, a Calgary-based provider of computational storage solutions, has raised an undisclosed seed-stage financing. The investors were Inovia Capital, a Canadian growth equity and venture capital firm, and Molex Ventures, an investment arm of U.S. electronics solutions provider Molex Electronic Technologies LLC. Founded in 2016 and led by CEO Roger Bertschmann, Eideticom has developed NVMe computational storage technology to help cloud and enterprise data centre customers improve scalability and performance as well as reduce costs and energy consumption. The company will use the funds raised to expand its team and accelerate the deployment of end solutions.
4 min read · 29 July 2019
ProteinQure, a Toronto-based software platform for computational protein drug discovery, has raised about $4 million in a seed-stage financing. U.S. venture capital firm Felicis Ventures led the round. It was joined by 8VC, Golden Ventures, Inovia Capital, Global Founders Capital and angel investor Tom Williams. Launched two years ago by CEO Lucas Siow, CTO Tomas Babej, Head of R&D Mark Fingerhuth and CSO Chris Ing, ProteinQure uses molecular simulations, machine learning and quantum computing to solve drug design challenges and deliver new protein-based therapeutics. The company will use the funds raised for new hires and to expand industry partnerships.
3 min read · 29 July 2019
Friendly Stranger Holdings Corp, a Toronto-based supplier of cannabis products and accessories, has raised $5 million in follow-on financing. The deal was backed by Canadian cannabis producers 48North Cannabis Corp and VIVO Cannabis Inc. Canadian cannabis investment firm Green Acre Capital, which in 2018 agreed to invest $10 million in the company, provided an additional $2.5 million. The proceeds will be used to support Friendly Stranger's growth, including opening more cannabis culture accessory stores and launching adult-use retail locations across Canada. Established in 1994 by Robin Ellins and Joy Jacobsen, Friendly Stranger currently operates 10 retail locations in Ontario.
5 min read · 29 July 2019
Thomson Reuters (TSX, NYSE: TRI) said it and U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group are in discussions to sell Refinitiv to the London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSEG) for about US$27 billion, confirming an earlier report. It is expected the deal would result in Thomson Reuters holding an about 15 percent stake in LSEG. Refinitiv, a London, U.K.-based provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, emerged last year with the acquisition of Thomson Reuters' financial and risk unit by a group led by Blackstone. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was among the investors. Thomson Reuters is controlled by Canada’s Thomson family.
2 min read · 29 July 2019
Vistara Capital Partners held the second close of its third technology debt fund, bringing the total raised to more than $100 million (US$75 million). Vistara Technology Growth Fund III, launched last October with a target of $130 million, is expected to reach its goal later this year, Managing Partner Randy Garg and Partner Noah Shipman told PE Hub Canada. The second close was anchored by two new institutions: the investment program of federal agency Export Development Canada and Nicola Wealth, a Canadian wealth management firm. Fund III will maintain Vistara’s strategy of providing flexible debt and equity financing for North American mid- to late-stage companies looking to fuel growth without diluting ownership.
3 min read · 29 July 2019
