TriWest Capital Partners had an eventful 2017. The Calgary firm, a 20-year veteran of private equity investing in Western Canada’s mid-market, made two new platform investments, did a handful of add-on deals, and closed full or partial exits from three portfolio companies, one of them in a high-profile initial public offering. Additionally, TriWest Capital Partners Fund V, which raised $500 million in 2015, reached its halfway point in deployments. PE Hub Canada sat down with Senior Managing Directors Cody Church and Mick MacBean to discuss recent deals and how TriWest is navigating today's challenging market environment.
5 min read · 31 January 2018
Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc, a Richmond, British Columbia-based industrial wood pellet maker and distributor, has filed a final prospectus with Canadian securities regulators for an initial public offering. The company is seeking to raise $150 million, or about $172 million if the greenshoe option is fully exercised. Pinnacle previously targeted as much as $200 million, including the greenshoe option. The prospectus in its final form no longer identifies ONCAP, the mid-market private equity arm of Onex Corp, among the IPO's selling shareholders, which are targeted to raise as much as $102 million. ONCAP bought a majority stake in Pinnacle in 2011.
3 min read · 31 January 2018
Datawatch Corp (NASDAQ: DWCH) has acquired Angoss Software Corp, a Toronto-based provider of advanced predictive analytics used by more than 300 businesses in 30 countries. Datawatch paid more than $30 million (US$24.5 million) in cash, financed in part by Silicon Valley Bank. Bedford, Massachusetts-based Datawatch called the deal a "transformative acquisition" that will enhance the company's data intelligence offering with expanded capabilities. Angoss, founded in 1984, was taken private in 2013 by U.S. private equity firm Peterson Partners. It has been led since 2016 by President and CEO Brandon Cope, a former Peterson partner.
4 min read · 31 January 2018
Vancouver-based online bookkeeping service Bench has secured about $22 million (US$18 million) in a Series B-1 financing. The round was led by iNovia Capital. As a result, iNovia Partner Shawn Abbott has joined the board. Additionally, Bain Capital Ventures, which led the company's Series B round in 2016, Altos Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank invested. Bench, founded in 2012 and led by CEO Ian Crosby, provides an automation platform that helps small businesses and independent professionals reduce bookkeeping labour time by 75 percent. It plans to use the funds raised to accelerate platform development, grow the team, and expand the service.
3 min read · 31 January 2018
Canadian private investment firm Hillcore Group has acquired a portfolio of seniors living homes in New Brunswick from Atlantic Retirement Living Group. The deal, which closed at the end of 2017, reflected a purchase price of $70 million. The sellers were private owners-operators who have re-invested part of the sales proceeds back into the new venture as minority partners. The acquired portfolio consists of three retirement homes and three residential properties located in Dieppe and Moncton. Hillcore said it plans to expand the portfolio by acquiring similar seniors living assets across Atlantic Canada.
2 min read · 30 January 2018
Good Buy Gear, a U.S. online marketplace and white-glove consignment service for used baby and kids’ gear, has raised $750,000 in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Access Venture Partners and joined by other investors, including Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. Founded in 2016, women-led, Denver-based Good Buy Gear’s pickup-to-payout platform and service is currently available to metro locations in Colorado.
3 min read · 30 January 2018
Good Buy Gear, a U.S. online marketplace and white-glove consignment service for used baby and kids’ gear, has raised US$750,000 in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by Access Venture Partners and joined by other investors, including Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. Founded in 2016, women-led, Denver-based Good Buy Gear's pickup-to-payout platform and service is currently available to metro locations in Colorado. The company plans to expand in the state and to other U.S. cities.
4 min read · 30 January 2018
Kitchener, Ontario nanotechnology startup Nicoya Lifesciences Inc has secured C$2 million in its latest financing. U.S. venture capital firm Ripple Ventures and Canadian angel group Golden Triangle Angel Network led the round. They were joined by MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, BDC Capital, Garage Capital, Angel One, Maple Leaf Angels, Innovation Grade Ventures and others.
2 min read · 30 January 2018
Northleaf Capital Partners has hired Roderick Gadsby as a managing director on the firm's infrastructure team. Gadsby will operate from Northleaf’s London office and focus on infrastructure transaction origination, due diligence, execution and asset management in the United Kingdom and Europe. He joins the firm from Stormharbour LLP, where he served as a partner. Gadsby also held senior infrastructure investment and advisory roles at UBS Investment Bank, Macquarie Group and Barclays Capital. Toronto-based Northleaf is a private equity, infrastructure and private credit manager.
2 min read · 30 January 2018
Toronto-based mobile rewards program Drop has secured about $26 million (US$21 million) in a Series A financing. U.S. venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) led. It was joined by Sierra Ventures, White Star Capital, ff Venture Capital, Portag3 Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank, most of which invested in the company's seed funding last year. Drop also announced it has hired Ian Logan, formerly an Airbnb executive, as vice president of engineering. Drop provides a free mobile app that allows millennials to earn rewards while shopping. Founded in 2015 by CEO Derrick Fung, the company will use the funds raised for a "major innovation push" in 2018.
4 min read · 30 January 2018
