Supreme Cannabis Co Inc said it will launch a new platform for investing in Europe's cannabidiol (CBD) health and wellness sector. Supreme Heights will make strategic investments in and lend support to U.K. and European health and wellness businesses with focused brands and CBD offerings, including vaporizers, edibles and beverages, topicals and ancillary services. Based in London, Supreme Heights will be led by CEO Patrick Morton, co-founder of Cannabis Invest UK. Toronto-based Supreme Cannabis is a provider of cannabis products for commercial and medical use.
6 min read · 25 June 2019
BDC Capital has supplied $1.25 million of mezzanine financing to TickTrade, a Toronto-based provider of a software-as-a-service foreign exchange (FX) trading platform. BDC invested through its Growth and Transition Capital division. The deal was led by Director Kyle Feucht. Founded in 2013 by CEO Baha Ohcebol and COO Alexander Culiniac, TickTrade provides its FX trading and payments solutions to the global financial services industry. The proceeds of the financing, TickTrade's first from an institutional source, will be used to hire additional sales and marketing personnel as the company begins further U.S. and European market penetration.
3 min read · 25 June 2019
Vancouver-based carbon capture technology company Inventys has wrapped up its Series C financing, raising about $34 million (US$26 million). Inventys received an additional $13 million (US$10 million) from U.K.-based fund OGCI Climate Investments, which led the Series C's first tranche last year, and BDC Capital's clean technology practice, with existing investors Husky Energy Inc, Roda Group and Chevron Technology Ventures also contributing. The funds raised will allow Inventys to complete its 30-tonne-per-day CO₂ capture plant demonstration project with Husky, due to begin operations in Q3 2019. They will also support scale-up activities for the manufacturing of the company's filter beds and rotating adsorption machine.
5 min read · 25 June 2019
Onex Corp has received approval from the federal Minister of Transport to acquire Calgary-based carrier WestJet Airlines Ltd (TSX: WJA). Last month, the Canadian private equity firm offered to buy WestJet, Canada’s second-largest carrier, for $31 per share. The deal is valued at $3.5 billion, or $5 billion including debt. The Minister of Transport concluded the acquisition "does not raise public interest issues as related to national transportation," WestJet said. The deal remains subject to other regulatory approvals, approval by WestJet shareholders, and final approval by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.
3 min read · 25 June 2019
EStruxture Data Centers Inc, a Montréal-based provider of network and cloud-neutral data centre solutions, has secured an expanded $170 million credit facility with a group of Canadian banks. The group was led by Scotiabank and National Bank of Canada. The facility's proceeds will be used by eStruxture to expand existing data centres and acquire new facilities and businesses across Canada. Launched in 2017, eStruxture previously raised $180 million from various sources, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Fengate Real Asset Investments.
3 min read · 24 June 2019
Toronto-based waste management company GFL Environmental Inc is preparing to launch an initial public offering (IPO) this fall, the Globe and Mail reported, citing a source. GFL is seeking to raise up to $1.98 billion through a dual listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and an undetermined U.S. exchange, the report said. The company hired a syndicate of investment banks to advise on the IPO, with Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal managing the deal in Canada, the report said. Last year, GFL was recapitalized by an investor group led by BC Partners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and others. The transaction valued the business at $5.1 billion.
1 min read · 24 June 2019
Canadian healthcare technology venture capital firm iGan Partners has exited its investment in Rhythm Xience, an Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based medical device company. The exit resulted from Rhythm's acquisition by Carlsbad, California's Acutus Medical, a venture capital-backed arrhythmia care provider. Founded in 2014, Rhythm designs, develops and makes solutions used in catheter-based cardiac rhythm management. Toronto-based iGan, which earlier this year closed its first fund, iGan Fund I, at $100 million, led Rhythm's last financing in 2018.
2 min read · 24 June 2019
Chrysalix Venture Capital, a Canadian industrial innovation venture capital firm, has invested in Feasible, an Emeryville, California-based battery analytics platform company. Terms weren't disclosed. The investment is the first made by Chrysalix RoboValley Fund. Founded in 2015, Feasible is the developer of EchoStat, which uses sound waves to provide real-time analytics and insights for solving challenges in battery design, manufacturing and product management. Chrysalix RoboValley Fund was launched in 2018 with a target of US$120 million ($158 million). It invests in early-stage intelligent systems companies focused on improving productivity and critical business processes.
3 min read · 24 June 2019
Chevron Phillips Chemical Co, a joint venture of Chevron Corp and Phillips 66, has offered to acquire Nova Chemicals Corp, a Calgary-based maker of chemicals and plastic resins, Reuters reported, citing sources. The proposed purchase price is more than US$15 billion, including debt, the report said. Mubadala Investment Co, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, owns Nova. Another Abu Dhabi affiliate acquired the company in 2009 for US$500 million. Mubadala has recently been exploring a full or partial sale of Nova, the report said. Based in The Woodlands, Texas, Chevron Phillips is a petrochemicals producer.
1 min read · 24 June 2019
Area One Farms has initially closed its fourth farmland private equity fund, securing $120 million. The investors were not disclosed. Area One Farms Fund IV, which is targeted to raise $250 million, last year received a $100 million cornerstone commitment from a Canadian institution, Buyouts reported. Area One Farms Fund III raised $130 million in 2017. Founded in 2011 by Joelle Faulkner and Benji Faulkner, Area One invests in family farms, helping them scale operations, acquire new land, develop assets, and transfer ownership to the next generation. The Toronto-based firm, which currently has farm partnerships in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, said Fund IV has completed two new partnership allocations.
2 min read · 24 June 2019
