QuadReal Property Group has partnered with T5 Data Centers, an Atlanta-based provider of data centre solutions, in the launch of a platform to develop, acquire and operate data centres. The platform, which will do business under the name T5 Data Centers, has been capitalized to support the creation and purchase of more than US$2.5 billion facilities able to support the needs of enterprise and hyperscale users. QuadReal, a Vancouver-based real estate investment, operating and development company, is owned by British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCI), a Canadian pension system.
4 min read · 29 April 2019
Northleaf Capital Partners has hired Nicholas Doktor as an associate, private equity. Based in Northleaf’s New York office, Doktor will participate in the origination, evaluation and monitoring of the firm's private equity investments. Doktor joins from CIT Bank, an affiliate of U.S. financial services firm CIT Group, where he most recently served as an associate in the sponsor finance group. Toronto-based Northleaf oversees more than US$12 billion in private equity, private credit and infrastructure commitments.
1 min read · 29 April 2019
Ceipal Corp, a Rochester, New York-based cloud human resource management platform, has raised US$7.5 million in its latest financing. U.S. growth equity firm Resolve Growth Partners backed the deal, as did Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Mistral Venture Partners, an existing investor. Founded in 2015, Ceipal provides a software-as-a-service platform that automates front- and back-office business operations of staffing companies. It serves more than 1,000 customers and 12,000 recruiters globally. The funds raised will be used to scale Ceipal's product development, sales and support teams.
3 min read · 26 April 2019
The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) has appointed Claudio Rojas as its new CEO. Rojas has more than 14 years of experience in finance, law and business and has worked with several organizations active in Canada's innovation ecosystem. He is currently managing director of Hurt Capital, a founder-focused investment and venture capital platform. Rojas replaces Yuri Navarro, who stepped down as NACO's CEO earlier this year. Rojas replaces Yuri Navarro, NACO's CEO since 2012. Toronto-based NACO represents more than 40 networks consisting of over 3,000 angel investors across Canada.
3 min read · 26 April 2019
Mitel Networks Corp is in talks to combine with Avaya Holdings Corp, a Santa Clara, California-based telecommunications equipment and software company, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Mitel, an Ottawa-based provider of business communications, collaboration and contact-centre solutions, has proposed a stock deal valued at between roughly US$2.2 billion and US$2.4 billion, the report said. An agreement could come next month. Last year, Mitel, then a listed company, was acquired by a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners. The purchase price was about $2.6 billion.
1 min read · 25 April 2019
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to sell BGRS, a Burr Ridge, Illinois-based provider of talent mobility solutions. Brookfield said it expects to generate net proceeds of US$230 million from the sale of the company to Relo Group Inc, a Tokyo, Japan-based corporate outsourcing services provider. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. BGRS, formerly Brookfield Global Relocation Services, has been owned by Toronto-based Brookfield for many years. Established in 1963, BGRS manages more than 60,000 corporate and government client relocations annually in over 140 countries. The company has a second office in Toronto.
2 min read · 25 April 2019
Mejuri, a Toronto-based fine jewelry brand, has raised about $31 million (US$23 million) in a Series B financing, according to a report by TechCrunch. U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led the round, the report said. Existing investors BDC Capital, Dash Ventures, Felix Capital and Incite Ventures also participated. The news follows last September's announcement of a $5 million Series A financing led by Felix. Other investors in that deal included Real Ventures. Founded in 2015 by CEO Noura Sakkijha and COO Maj Masad, Mejuri designs, makes and sells handcrafted, everyday jewelry directly to consumers, avoiding traditional retail markups.
1 min read · 25 April 2019
The Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT), an aquaculture contract research company based in San Diego, California and Souris, Prince Edward Island, has been acquired by U.S. aquaculture private equity firm Cuna del Mar. Terms weren't disclosed. The seller was Linnaeus Capital Partners, a Dutch private equity firm. Established in 2012 and led by President and CEO John Buchanan, CAT focuses on the application of biotechnologies to improve productivity and sustainability in aquaculture and related industries. The company's divisions include breeding and genomics, diagnostics and genotyping, molecular biology, and fish health and nutrition.
2 min read · 25 April 2019
Clairvest Group held the first and final close of its sixth mid-market fund, securing about $1.1 billion (US$850 million) in committed capital. Clairvest Equity Partners VI, the largest fund in the Toronto private equity firm’s 32-year history, reached its hard cap after less than four months of fundraising, according to a news release. Clairvest, a listed firm, was CEP VI’s largest investor, committing US$230 million alongside US$620 million from limited partners. The LPs were not identified. Prior Clairvest funds were backed mostly by North American institutional investors, such as pension systems, insurers and family offices.
2 min read · 25 April 2019
Heyday, a Montréal-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform, has secured $2 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Innovobot, a Canadian innovation investment and advisory services firm. It was joined by Desjardins Capital and strategic investors. Heyday was founded in 2017 by CEO Steve Desjarlais, CPO David Bordeleau, CMO Étienne Mérineau and CTO Hugues Rousseau. Its platform leverages conversational AI and messaging apps to help retailers improve the customer experience. Heyday will use the funds raised to expand its engineering, research and product teams, and accelerate growth in the United States and Europe.
4 min read · 25 April 2019
