VerticalScope has bought VarageSale, a Toronto-based buy-and-sell website and mobile app. No financial terms were released. VerticalScope, a Canadian digital media company, said the deal supports its focus on enthusiast websites and interest-based online communities. VarageSale was founded in 2012 by Carl Mercier and Tami Zuckerman as a community-based “virtual garage sale." Led by CEO Andrew Sider, it raised nearly $60 million from Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms, according to Crunchbase. Its investors included iNovia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Real Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Version One Ventures.
2 min read · 09 November 2017
VerticalScope has bought VarageSale, a Toronto-based buy-and-sell website and mobile app. No financial terms were released. VerticalScope, a Canadian digital media company, said the deal supports its focus on enthusiast websites and interest-based online communities. VarageSale was founded in 2012 by Carl Mercier and Tami Zuckerman as a community-based “virtual garage sale”. Led by CEO Andrew Sider, it raised nearly US$60 million from Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms, according to Crunchbase. Its investors included iNovia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Real Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Version One Ventures.
3 min read · 09 November 2017
Forty-four percent of Canadian companies with 20 employees or more expect to acquire another business in the coming five years, according to a new report from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). What Do Buyers Look for When Purchasing a Business? found most buyers are targeting a profitable, stable business, often to achieve horizontal integration or increased geographic presence. The study, conducted by BDC in partnership with Nielsen, is based on a survey of more than 2,500 small and medium-sized enterprises in the spring of 2017.
3 min read · 08 November 2017
FirePower Capital has hired Anthony Lipschitz as a partner, private equity. Lipschitz joins the firm from Thinking Capital, where he served as chief strategy officer. He has also worked as a technology executive, including at iStopOver, a short-term vacation rental platform he co-founded and led, and served as a vice president at Brightspark Ventures. FirePower also announced its hire of Alan Chettiar as head of investment banking and the opening of a Montréal office. Earlier this year, PE Hub Canada profiled the debut deals of FirePower's private capital division, which launched last year.
2 min read · 08 November 2017
Canadian department store retailer Hudson’s Bay Co (TSX: HBC) said the Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved the $632 million (US$500 million) investment in HBC by U.S. private equity firm Rhône Capital. The investment, announced last month, will give Rhône a voting and equity interest of 21.8 percent (or about 30 percent if the shares are held for eight years). Rhône will also have the right to nominate two board members. HBC said most shareholders have already approved the deal along with the company's US$850 million sale of the Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue building.
6 min read · 08 November 2017
Canada Cartage has acquired Doyle Transportation, a Guelph, Ontario-based provider of fleet outsourcing, full-truckload, and less-than-truckload solutions in Canada and the United States. No financial terms were released. Canada Cartage, a Mississauga, Ontario-based provider of dedicated trucking solutions, said the deal will strengthen its service to customers in southwestern Ontario. Canada Cartage was taken private in 2007 by U.S. private equity firm Nautic Partners for about US$173 million.
2 min read · 08 November 2017
Laval, Québec-based regenerative medicine company Fortuna Fix Inc has raised about $32 million (US$25 million) in a Series B financing. The round was backed by the venture capital arm of U.S. biopharmaceutical company Amgen Inc, which joins other new and existing investors, including Macnguyen Family Office and Salamander Invest. Led by CEO and CSO Jan-Eric Ahlfors, Fortuna has developed technology platforms for treating neurodegenerative diseases and neurotrauma. It will use the funds raised for clinical trials in Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury and to expand its automated robotic manufacturing capabilities.
5 min read · 08 November 2017
U.S. private equity firm StoneCalibre has acquired Applied Voice & Speech Technologies Inc (AVST), a Foothill Ranch, California-based developer of software-based unified communications solutions. No financial terms were released. StoneCalibre said it merged the company with XMedius Solutions Inc, a secure file exchange solutions business with headquarters in Montréal. StoneCalibre acquired XMedius from France's Sagemcom Documents SAS in 2015. It said the combined entity will provide a complete set of communication tools that leverage both voice and data. AVST was formerly backed by Ignition Partners and Second Alpha Partners.
3 min read · 08 November 2017
Source Energy Services Ltd (TSX: SHLE) has closed its acquisition of a Northern White proppant mine in Wisconsin, two frac sand terminals located in British Columbia, and exploration rights to more than 3,600 acres of land in the Peace River Valley of Alberta from Preferred Proppants LLC. The deal had a total consideration of about $100 million (US$80 million). Source, a Calgary-based producer, supplier and distributor of frac sand, also wrapped up private and public offerings that generated $93.8 million to help fund the deal. Source, backed by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners since 2013, went public this year, raising $175 million.
4 min read · 07 November 2017
Canadian private equity firm Beringer Capital has acquired BrandShop, a Shelton, Connecticut digital commerce provider. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which saw the company's management retain a significant stake. BrandShop specializes in direct-to-consumer services that help clients expand sales channels, access and analyze transaction-driven data, and achieve brand loyalty. Beringer will provide the capital needed for the company to continue scaling. BrandShop is the fourth deal of Beringer's third fund. It follows the fund's acquisition of Blue Acorn Inc earlier in 2017.
2 min read · 07 November 2017
