Canadian junior capital provider Penfund has hired Michael Binnington as a vice president of origination. Binnington joins Penfund after six years spent at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, most recently as a vice president in the leveraged finance investment banking group in London. Before then, he served an investment analyst at Manulife. In December, Toronto-based Penfund closed its sixth mid-market fund, Penfund Capital Fund VI, raising $1.15 billion.
2 min read · 27 June 2019
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has invested in Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX), a Hawthorne, California-based space launch provider. No financial terms were disclosed. CNBC reported the investment is part of a new financing of more than US$300 million. Founded in 2002 by U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk, SpaceX designs, manufactures and operates advanced rockets and spacecraft. It has accounted for more than 75 launches to date. SpaceX is the inaugural deal of Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), unveiled in April to make late-stage venture capital and growth equity investments in technology companies.
2 min read · 27 June 2019
A report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and BDC Capital provides new data on diversity and inclusion in Canada's private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) industries. The report, based on a survey conducted by Deloitte in early 2019, found only 12 percent of partners at PE firms and 11 percent of partners at VC firms were female. It also found that only 6 percent of partners at PE firms and 18 percent of partners at VC firms were visible minorities. In all, 59 firms participated in the survey, which is intended to establish baseline data to measure progress over time and advance best practices in the area.
5 min read · 27 June 2019
U.S private equity firm Lightyear Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have agreed to acquire Lendmark Financial Services LLC, a Lawrenceville, Georgia-based consumer finance platform. Terms weren't released for the deal, which is expected to close later this year. Reuters previously reported the transaction's value at US$600 million, excluding debt. The seller is Blackstone Group, which acquired Lendmark in 2013 from BB&T Corp. Established in 1996, Lendmark provides both direct consumer installment loans and sales finance (retail) products to borrowers.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
Canadian healthcare private equity firm Persistence Capital Partners (PCP) has invested in Anova Fertility & Reproductive Health, a Toronto-based fertility and reproductive care business. No financial terms were disclosed. Established in 2016 by CEO Marjorie Dixon, Anova provides a full-service fertility and in vitro fertilization clinic. PCP will work with the company's management team on strategic growth initiatives, including opening new clinics, pursuing investment and partnership opportunities, and investing in new technologies and techniques. Anova is the second investment of PCP's most recent fund.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
Fellow.app, an Ottawa-based software toolkit for managers, has closed its seed-stage financing, raising about $8.5 million (US$6.5 million). Canadian growth equity and venture capital firm Inovia Capital led the round, with participation from Felicis Ventures, Garage Capital and several angel investors. Fellow.app, launched last year by CEO Aydin Mirzaee, CTO Sam Cormier-Iijima and CPO Amin Mirzaee, has developed a cloud-based tool to help managers and their teams organize meetings, feedback and priorities. Along with the seed round, Fellow.app announced its first customer, Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify.
3 min read · 27 June 2019
Air Canada (TSX: AC) has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Transat AT Inc (TSX: TRZ), a Montréal-based tour operator, for $13 per unit. The all-cash deal, expected to close in early 2020, is valued at about $520 million. Transat's board has approved the transaction and is recommending shareholder approval. Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, said the combination of the businesses will enhance capabilities in the global leisure travel market and offer customers more destinations and connections. Transat's shareholders include Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
8 min read · 27 June 2019
Dfuse, a Montréal-based blockchain application programming interface platform, has closed a seed-stage financing, raising about $3.5 million. U.S. cryptofund Multicoin Capital and Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of U.S. chip maker Intel Corp, led the round. Diagram Ventures, which co-founded dfuse, BoxOne Ventures, Panache Ventures and White Star Capital also invested. Launched in 2018 by Marc-Antoine Ross, Richard Reiner, Alexandre Bourget and Mathieu Boulianne, dfuse has created a range of products to help developers build effective blockchain applications.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
Alexander Mann Solutions has acquired Karen HR Inc, a Toronto-based human resources technology company, for an undisclosed amount. Launched in 2017 and led by CEO Noel Webb, Karen HR provides Karen AI, a cognitive recruiting solution that enhances recruitment processes and boosts candidate engagement. A second product, Karen Frontier, handles employee inquiries. Alexander Mann, a London-based talent acquisition and management services company, said the deal will accelerate the launch of new digital offerings. Last year, Alexander Mann was acquired by OMERS Private Equity for about US$1.1 billion. The seller was New Mountain Capital.
3 min read · 27 June 2019
C2RO, a Montréal-based cloud robotics software platform, has raised $2.25 million in follow-on financing. Québec early-stage venture capital firm Fonds Innovexport led the round. It was joined by GCI Capital, Harbor Street Ventures, Tandemlaunch, which incubated C2RO, Ministere de Economie et L’Innovation and angel investors. C2RO provides cloud artificial intelligence for smart devices to help businesses improve the experience of customers. It will use the funds raised to commercialize its product offerings. C2RO was founded in 2016 by CTO Soodeh Farokhi and is led by President and CEO Riccardo Badalone.
4 min read · 27 June 2019
