Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ) has agreed to sell interests in three solar farms in Queensland, Australia with 117 megawatt peak of capacity to Foresight Solar Fund, a U.K. infrastructure and private equity firm. No financial terms were released for the deal, which will see Foresight acquire 49 percent stakes in Longreach Solar Farm and Oakey 1 Solar Farm, and 100 percent of Oakey 2 Solar Farm. All three projects are expected to connect to the grid in 2018. Based in Guelph, Ontario, Canadian Solar is a maker of solar photovoltaic modules and a provider of solar energy solutions.
4 min read · 16 October 2017
Calligo has acquired 3 Peaks Inc, a Burlington, Ontario-based provider of cloud solutions, including e-mail, website hosting, backups and infrastructure-as-a-service. No financial terms were released. Founded in 1995, 3 Peaks has been led by President and CEO Ian Clark. Calligo, a U.K. cloud service provider to the mid-tier enterprise segment, said the deal will expand its presence in the North American market. Founded in 2011, Calligo last year raised US$20 million from U.S. investor Investcorp Technology Partners. It also secured funding from British venture capital firm Ti23.
3 min read · 13 October 2017
Solifor, a forest-land investment platform of Fonds de solidarité FTQ, has acquired Ste-Aurelie Timberlands, a 24,910-hectare forest property on the border of Maine and Québec. The investment, valued at $36 million, is Solifor's second outside of Québec. It will support Québec sawmills that utilize the Maine asset. Founded in 2005 to buy and manage privately-owned forest land, Solifor has to date invested $200 million in almost 200 hectares of property, most of it located in Québec's Bas-Saint-Laurent, Lotbinière, Charlevoix, Saguenay, Portneuf, Mauricie and Abitibi regions.
2 min read · 13 October 2017
Canada’s top 10 venture-capital financings in the third quarter won $572 million from investors, up 45 percent from the $395 million that went into the top 10 deals a year earlier. The number is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest deals announced in Q3 2017, supplemented by preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. The list is headed by LeddarTech, which accounted for 2017’s fourth $100 million-plus round, Milestone, Absorb Software and Freshbooks. Third-quarter data, when combined with the results of Q1 2017 and Q2 2017, suggest Canadian VC investment activity this year is poised to match or exceed the robust levels of 2016.
3 min read · 12 October 2017
3 min read · 12 October 2017
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has invested about $5.4 million in Metamaterial Technologies Inc (MTI), a Halifax-based smart materials and photonics company. Dr. George Palikaras, founder and CEO of MTI, said the funds raised will help advance the company's development and commercialization of a light-weight and high-efficiency silicon-based solar cell technology suitable for the transportation industry. The SDTC investment follows the close of MTI's $8.3 million Series A financing earlier this year. The round was led by Radar Capital and joined by Innovacorp and other investors.
4 min read · 12 October 2017
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to partner with two affiliates of Singapore's Keppel Corp Ltd to invest up to US$350 million alongside the Alpha Data Centre Fund (ADCF). The fund, which is managed by Keppel Capital, the group's investment arm, aims to develop a portfolio of new and existing data centre assets in the Asia Pacific region and Europe. CPPIB's commitment agreement includes the option of an additional US$150 million. When ADCF is fully invested, it is expected to oversee about US$2.3 billion in data centre assets.
5 min read · 12 October 2017
Innova Global Ltd has bought the shares of Braden, a gas turbine auxiliary equipment specialist, from U.S.-based Global Power Equipment Group. Terms weren't disclosed for the acquisition, which includes Braden Manufacturing, Consolidated Fabricators and Braden-Europe. Innova, a Calgary-based provider of emissions and noise control solutions, said the deal will expand its reach into markets in Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa. Innova was acquired by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners in 2015. Earlier this year, the company acquired the intellectual property assets of Express Integrated Technologies.
4 min read · 12 October 2017
ROSS Intelligence, an artificial intelligence company focused on the legal industry, has raised US$8.7 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total funding to US$13 million. The round was led by iNovia Capital. Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Real Ventures, Dentons’ NextLaw Labs and others also invested. Founded in 2015 by CEO Andrew Arruda, CTO Jimoh Ovbiagele and Pargles Dall’Oglio at the University of Toronto, San Francisco-based ROSS develops AI technology to support legal research by answering questions and supplying relevant information. It recently launched ROSS North, its AI R&D headquarters in Toronto.
5 min read · 11 October 2017
Halifax innovation hub Volta Labs has partnered with BDC Capital and Innovacorp to launch Volta Cohort, a program to help early-stage company founders in Atlantic Canada secure venture capital sooner. The program will feature a micro-fund that supplies investments of $25,000 to up to five companies selected in a pitch event hosted biannually by Volta Labs. Venture-backed startups will be given space at Volta Labs and access to mentoring and other resources. BDC Capital's Michelle Scarborough said the program will help local first-time founders "turn their startup ideas into actual revenue-generating businesses."
4 min read · 11 October 2017
