Northern Private Capital (NPC) has agreed to invest $35 million in Loop Industries Inc (Nasdaq: LOOP), a Terrebonne, Québec-based plastics technology company. The deal will give NPC, an investment arm of CFFI Ventures, the holding company of Canadian billionaire John Risley, a 10.5 percent stake. NPC also has the option to invest $45 million more within three years. Founded in 2014 by CEO Daniel Solomita, Loop has developed technology that depolymerizes no- and low-value waste polyethylene terephthalate plastic and polyester fibre. The company will use the funds raised for building its first manufacturing facility, research and development, and other priorities.
6 min read · 29 May 2019
U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Cority, a Toronto-based provider of environmental, health, safety and quality (EHSQ) solutions. Terms weren't released. The Globe and Mail reports the transaction values Cority at between $500 million and $750 million. Previous majority investor Norwest Venture Partners, a U.S. growth equity firm, will retain a significant stake in the company and re-invest more than half of its proceeds. Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners will also re-invest a portion of its existing investment and continue to advise Cority. Led by CEO Mark Wallace, Cority provides an EHSQ software-as-a-service platform that serves more than 800 clients in 100 countries.
4 min read · 29 May 2019
Beam Dental, a Columbus, Ohio-based dental benefits provider, has raised US$55 million in a Series D financing. The round was led by Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners, with participation from existing investor Drive Capital. Founded in 2012, Beam provides employers with an end-to-end digital solution for dental insurance. It streamlines and automates lengthy, manual processes, such as providing quotes, enrollment and claims. Beam will use the funds raised to accelerate growth and develop new product offerings, which will include investments in machine learning and conversational artificial intelligence.
3 min read · 29 May 2019
CIBC Innovation Banking has closed a $2.7 million (US$2 million) growth financing with CareGuide, a Toronto-based provider of online care services. Founded in 2012 by Chief Executive Dad John Philip Green, CareGuide connects millions of North American caregivers with families needing child care, pet care, elder care and home-care services. It also provides payroll services. CareGuide is backed by Canadian and U.S. investors, including Inovia Capital, Plaza Ventures, Structure Capital, FJ Labs, Hedgewood, Conconi Growth Partners, 500 Startups and some 60 angel investors. CIBC Innovation Banking is the technology lending arm of CIBC.
3 min read · 29 May 2019
Québec Iron Ore Inc (QIO), an affiliate of Champion Iron Ltd (TSX: CIA), has struck a deal with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) for a preferred share offering of $185 million. The proceeds of the offering and a US$200 million credit facility will be used for strategic initiatives and to refinance outstanding credit facilities. QIO, operator of Québec's Bloom Lake Mining Complex, also concluded an agreement to acquire Ressources Québec (RQ)'s 36.8 percent stake in QIO for $211 million. The deal increases Champion's ownership to 100 percent. Champion, an Australian mining company, acquired the Bloom Lake iron ore project in 2016.
6 min read · 29 May 2019
Refinitiv has agreed to acquire AlphaDesk, a cloud-based order management system (OMS), from SGGG Group, a Toronto-based provider of software and administration services to investment funds. Terms weren't disclosed. Refinitiv, a London, U.K.-based provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, said the deal will add OMS capabilities to its end-to-end trading solution. Refinitiv emerged last year with the acquisition of Thomson Reuters' financial and risk unit by a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group. The deal valued the business at about US$20 billion.
3 min read · 29 May 2019
Private equity investors disbursed $1.9 billion to 130 deals in Canada in the first quarter of 2019, according to a report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). CVCA said investments levels in Q1 2019 were 72 percent lower as compared to the same time last year. CEO Kim Furlong said CVCA members see their PE deal opportunities being impacted by the current high valuation environment. A fifth of all deals in Q1 2019 were closed in the information and communication technology sector, which also took almost half of the total invested. The industrial and manufacturing and consumer and retail sectors together captured 29 percent of all dollars.
3 min read · 28 May 2019
Custom Air Conditioning Ltd has acquired Mavco Plumbing and Heating Ltd, a Penticton, British Columbia-based provider of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing services. Terms weren't disclosed. Founded in 1994, Mavco provides its services to local residential and commercial customers, stratas, care homes, hospitals, government facilities, restaurants and wineries. Custom Air, a Port Coquitlam, British Columbia-based mechanical services provider, said the deal significantly expands its presence in the B.C. Interior. Last year, Custom Air secured an investment from Canadian private equity firm CAI Capital Partners to support its Western Canada-focused growth strategy.
3 min read · 28 May 2019
Inventys, a Vancouver-based carbon technology company, is leading a project to develop a full-cycle solution to capture and reuse CO₂ from a cement plant while also reducing emissions. Project CO₂MENT secured undisclosed funding from Swiss building materials group LafargeHolcim and French energy company Total. Other investors included CO₂ Capture Project and the B.C. and federal governments. Inventys, which closed a $21 million Series C round in February, said the project will assess the potential for a new model for supplying post-combustion CO₂ to the existing CO₂ market and the feasibility of new CO₂ utilization technologies.
6 min read · 28 May 2019
Inventys, a Vancouver-based carbon technology company, is leading a project to develop a full-cycle solution to capture and reuse CO₂ from a cement plant while also reducing emissions. Project CO₂MENT secured undisclosed funding from Swiss building materials group LafargeHolcim and French energy company Total. Other investors included CO₂ Capture Project and the B.C. and federal governments. Inventys, which closed a $21 million Series C round in February, said the project will assess the potential for a new model for supplying post-combustion CO₂ to the existing CO₂ market and the feasibility of new CO₂ utilization technologies.
6 min read · 28 May 2019
