AlayaCare has acquired Canesto Systems Inc, an Ajax, Ontario-based contact and resource management software provider for home and community care organizations. No financial terms were released. AlayaCare, a Toronto and Montréal cloud-based home healthcare software company, said the deal will help it serve Ontario home and community care agencies and expand insight capabilities through increased access to health data. Founded in 2014, AlayaCare last year closed a $2.4 million financing with Fonds Innovexport. It is also backed by Desjardins-Innovatech, Klass Capital, Maple Leaf Angels and Recap Health Ventures.
3 min read · 20 June 2018
Swedish private equity firm EQT and Canadian pension fund manager PSP Investments have entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Azelis SA, a Belgian distributor of specialty chemicals and food ingredients. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2018. The seller is U.K. private equity firm Apax Partners, which acquired the business in 2015. Established in 2001 through a merger, Azelis serves more than 43,000 customers globally. PSP Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Simon Marc said the company is a leader in an "attractive market that has strong consolidation prospects."
4 min read · 20 June 2018
Tilray, a Nanaimo, British Columbia-based cannabis cultivator, processor and distributor, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common shares in the United States. It plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol TLRY. The IPO has not yet been priced. The company also filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators, but does not intend to list domestically. Tilray has been owned since its founding in 2014 by U.S. cannabis private equity firm Privateer Holdings. Earlier this year, it closed a $60 million Series A financing backed by unidentified institutional investors.
3 min read · 20 June 2018
Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Canada’s fourth largest pension system, is seeing the benefits of a three-year strategy that changed the way it invests in private equity and infrastructure, in part by doing more direct deals. PSP Investments last week issued its report for fiscal 2018, ended in March, which shows PE deployments of $4.4 billion last year. Of the total, more than half went to co-sponsorships and co-investments. The activity marks a third year of unprecedented PE outlays, totalling $9.9 billion since 2015.
2 min read · 20 June 2018
U.S. private equity firm Third Century Investment Associates has recapitalized and acquired a stake in Decisive Technologies Inc, an Ottawa-based provider of enterprise information technology infrastructure services, and the affiliated BriteSky Technologies Inc, a provider of managed cloud services. Terms weren't disclosed for the deal, which included financing from Roynat Capital. Canadian investment banking firm FirePower Capital Corp announced the transaction, on which it advised. President Mike Smith, who founded Decisive in 2001 alongside Joey Harrison and Richard Losier, said the partnership with Third Century will help accelerate the company's growth.
4 min read · 20 June 2018
Investment Management Corp of Ontario (IMCO) has appointed Jean Michel as its chief investment officer effective July 3. Michel, who will be based in Toronto, is responsible for designing and managing IMCO's global investment activities and leading its investment team. He joins the firm from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, where for two years he was executive vice president, depositors and total portfolio. Before then, Michel headed Air Canada Pension Investments. Launched in 2017, IMCO oversees $60 billion in assets on behalf of Ontario Pension Board and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
3 min read · 20 June 2018
Canadian financial services provider Peoples Trust Co has acquired Lendful Financial Inc, a Vancouver-based financial technology company. Terms weren't disclosed. Peoples Trust said the deal adds consumer lending to its product suite. Founded in 2015 by CEO Alex Benjamin, CRO Mitch Salis and CTO Pat Forgione, Lendful provides an online lending marketplace that helps borrowers in Canada save as much as 30 percent when refinancing. The company was backed by Canadian venture capital firms Ferst Capital Partners and Stanley Park Ventures. It also raised funding from Alterna Savings.
3 min read · 20 June 2018
Toronto-based financial technology platform FundThrough has raised $9 million in equity and a $25 million credit facility. The Series A equity round was led by David Mirvish and ScaleUP Ventures. ScaleUP also led the company's $24.3 million round in 2016. The credit facility was provided by Canadian merchant banking firm Intercap Inc. Founded in 2014, FundThrough offers small businesses flexible, on-demand working capital using their outstanding invoices to overcome cash flow gaps and accelerate growth. Led by CEO Steven Uster, the company will use the funds raised for technology development, building integrations with platform partners, and continued U.S. market expansion.
4 min read · 20 June 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has committed $175 million to acquire a 20 percent interest in Goodman Brazil Logistics Partnership, a new vehicle for investing in logistics and industrial assets in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Launched by Australia's Goodman Group, the $880 million partnership is also backed by APG, First State Super and GIC. It is initially acquiring four Class A warehouse logistics facilities and two development land sites. Hilary Spann, who heads CPPIB's real estate investments in the Americas, said the goal is to deliver over 1 million square metres of logistics space, a "supply-constrained segment in Brazil.”
3 min read · 20 June 2018
An investor group led by Canadian private equity firm Champlain Financial Corp has agreed to acquire Baxters Canada Inc, a Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec-based maker of canned soups and sauces. The deal's value was not disclosed. Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction and Investissement Québec, Champlain's partners, are each committing $8 million. Baxters Canada was formerly an affiliate of Scotland's Baxters Food Group Ltd and entered Canada in 2004 with the buy of SoupExperts Inc. Fonds de solidarité FTQ's Alain Denis said the deal will support the company in a consolidating domestic sector and help it penetrate U.S. and Mexican markets and develop new products.
5 min read · 20 June 2018
