Canadian family office Skidmore Development Group and Canadian private equity firm SouthPac Partners have partnered in the acquisition of Cinnaroll Bakeries Ltd, a bakery and maker of gourmet cinnamon rolls. Terms weren't disclosed. Founded in 1987, Calgary's Cinnaroll markets Cinnaroll by Baker Boys, a wholesale maker of branded baked products, and CinnZeo, a network of café-style cinnamon roll stores. Skidmore and SouthPac said they will focus on accelerating the growth of Cinnaroll’s wholesale business in North America. They will also support the continued growth of the CinnZeo brand in North America and globally.
2 min read · 12 September 2017
Vancouver meal delivery startup Foodee has raised the second tranche of a $10 million Series A financing. The round, initially closed last year, was led by BDC Capital and joined by Kensington Capital Partners, by way of the BC Tech Fund, Yaletown Partners, Structure Capital and Voyager Capital. Founded in 2012, Foodee has developed an online platform that connects offices with top restaurants. It today partners with more than 500 restaurants and serves more than 8,000 customers. Led by CEO Ryan Spong, the company will use the funds raised to enhance its platform and continue expansion into cities across Canada and the United States.
3 min read · 12 September 2017
Sandvine Corp (TSX: SVC) said the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved the acquisition of the company by U.S. private equity firm Francisco Partners and Procera Networks Inc. The deal, announced in July, is valued at about $562 million (US$444 million) and expected to close this month. It will see Sandvine, a Waterloo-based network policy control solutions provider, merged with Procera, a Fremont, California-headquartered networking equipment maker. Sandvine, which has been led since 2001 by President and CEO Dave Caputo, terminated an acquisition deal with Vector Capital prior to accepting the offer from Francisco.
3 min read · 12 September 2017
Canadian private equity firm Regimen Equity Partners has recruited David Eisler as a managing director. In the role, Eisler will work with Regimen’s team to identify and secure investments in private Canadian businesses and help those businesses grow. He joins Regimen from Canadian private equity firm Stern Partners, where since 2015 he served as a vice president. Before then, Eisler spent 14 years as a managing director at Banyan Capital Partners. Vancouver-based Regimen invests in companies with a focus on commercial and industrial markets and annual earnings of $3 million to $10 million. It also has offices in Edmonton and Toronto.
2 min read · 12 September 2017
Canadian venture launchpad Diagram, which raised $25 million for its debut fund earlier in 2017, has increased the fund's size to $30 million. The commitments were made by seven additional angel investors, including Angela Strange of Andreessen Horowitz, Dax Dasilva of Lightspeed, and Mike Cegelski of Panache Ventures. Led by Founder and CEO François Lafortune and Chairman Paul Desmarais III, Diagram seeds and supports a select number of companies in Canada's financial, insurance and healthcare technology sectors. It also announced new hires, bringing on Daniel Robichaud as a managing partner and Marc-Antoine Ross as CIO.
5 min read · 12 September 2017
Smartphone and tablet repair company Mobile Klinik has raised $6.85 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by Canadian alternative asset management firm Kensington Capital Partners. It was joined by individual investors, including Tim McGuire, formerly of McKinsey & Co, and Rob Pitfield, formerly of Scotiabank. With the deal, McGuire has joined the board and will serve as chairman. Based in Ottawa, Mobile Klinik was launched in 2015 by wireless and retail executives, including CEO Rob Bruce, the former president of Rogers Communications Inc. It currently operates a chain of 20 stores in Ontario, Québec and Alberta.
3 min read · 11 September 2017
Purpose Investments Inc has agreed to acquire the retail fund business of LOGiQ Asset Management Inc (TSX: LGQ), a Toronto-based asset manager. Purpose agreed to pay $32.9 million for retail asset management contracts held by LOGIQ. The deal is expected to close by the end of December, subject to the approval of shareholders and other conditions. Toronto-based Purpose has more than $3.4 billion in assets under management and offers exchange traded funds, mutual funds and other investment products. In May, the firm received a minority equity investment from OMERS Platform Investments.
5 min read · 11 September 2017
Montréal-based biopharmaceutical startup SpecificiT Pharma Inc has raised an undisclosed seed-stage financing. Existing investor AmorChem, a Canadian life sciences seed fund, backed the round alongside new investors, Sanderling Ventures and Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator. With the deal, Dr. Pierre Beauparlant, a Sanderling venture partner, will become the company's CEO. SpecificiT, first financed by AmorChem in 2013, is developing cellular therapies for the treatment of hematological cancers. It will use the funds raised to complete manufacturing and process development and add to the management team.
5 min read · 11 September 2017
Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group has made a growth equity investment in Also Energy Inc, a solar monitoring company based in Boulder, Colorado. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is Clairvest's first in the renewable energy sector. Established in 2007 by CEO Robert Schaefer and CTO Holden Caine, Also Energy provides software and hardware to enable the monitoring and control of power production and operations for U.S. and global commercial, industrial and utility-scale plants. Clairvest's investment marks the fifth deal done so far by Clairvest Equity Partners V, which raised $600 million in 2014.
2 min read · 11 September 2017
U.S. natural resources private equity firm Denham Capital has agreed to sell its interest in JDS Silver Holdings Ltd, including the company's high-grade silver-lead-zinc Silvertip mine, to Coeur Mining Inc (NYSE: CDE). The deal is valued at as much as US$250 million and is expected to wrap up in October. Denham a year ago invested US$65 million in JDS Silver to help the Vancouver-based company construct and bring into production the Silvertip mine, which is located in northern British Columbia. The deal was Denham's first in the Canadian mining industry. Coeur Mining is a Chicago-based precious metals producer.
3 min read · 11 September 2017
