U.S. hedge fund manager Magnetar Capital has agreed to invest $200 million in Painted Pony Energy Ltd (TSX: PONY), a Calgary-based natural gas producer. The investment will consist of $150 million of senior unsecured notes and $50 million of subordinated convertible debentures. Painted Pony said it will use the proceeds to repay debt and for other priorities. Earlier this year, the company acquired natural gas assets operator UGR Blair Creek Ltd. As a result of the $277 million deal, UGR's private equity investors ARC Financial Corp and EnCap Investments each took a 12.38 percent interest in Painted Pony.
10 min read · 10 August 2017
2 min read · 10 August 2017
Auvik Networks Inc, a Waterloo-based provider of network monitoring and management software for managed service providers, has secured $15 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm OpenView with participation from the company's existing Canadian investors Celtic House Venture Partners and Rho Canada Ventures. As a result, OpenView Partner Ricky Pelletier will join the board. The funds raised will be used for product development, partner initiatives, and growth into new markets. Auvik was founded in 2011 by CEO Marc Morin, CTO David Yach and VP Alex Hoff. Morin, a serial founder, was interviewed by PE Hub Canada in 2014.
3 min read · 10 August 2017
Montréal biopharmaceutical company Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc last week raised about $152 million (US$120 million) from its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market. The news was noted by BDC Capital Healthcare Fund, an investor in Clementia since 2012. The company's other backers include Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Janus Henderson, OrbiMed Advisors and New Enterprise Associates. Clementia's IPO is the second completed this year by a Canadian life sciences company. In May, Vancouver's Zymeworks Inc secured about $86 million (US$64 million) from its Canadian and U.S. offering.
3 min read · 09 August 2017
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has invested $15.5 million in six Ontario clean technology companies. The companies are Electrovaya Inc, an electric batteries developer; BionX International Corp, a maker of electric drive systems; 3E Nano Inc, a creator of energy-efficient window coatings; GreenMantra Technologies, a converter of recycled plastics into waxes; Peak Power Inc, a battery storage capacity specialist, and; Vive Crop Protection, an agricultural technology company. The federal government this year committed $400 million to SDTC's SD Tech Fund, which backs early-stage clean technology projects.
3 min read · 09 August 2017
Carmanah Technologies Corp (TSX: CMH) has completed the sale of Go Power!, a mobile power solutions provider, to Valterra Products LLC, a U.S. fluid control products supplier to the recreational vehicle, pool and spa, and industrial end markets. Carmanah, a Victoria, British Columbia-based manufacturer of signaling and solar lighting products, said the sale generated US$19.5 million, subject to adjustments and hold-backs. Mission Hills, California-based Valterra is a portfolio company of G. Scott Capital Partners, a U.S. family office. Scott Capital led a recapitalization of Valterra in 2013.
3 min read · 09 August 2017
London, Ontario voice-over online marketplace Voices.com has agreed to acquire Voicebank.net, a Beverly Hills, California online platform for casting and project management workflow. No financial terms were released. Voices.com, which connects buyers of audio and voice-over products and services with voice actors, said the combination of the two companies will address all market segments and include all engagement types, from animation dubbing to TV spots to podcasts to gaming. Founded in 2005, Voices.com is led by CEO David Ciccarelli. In July, it secured $18 million in funding from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital.
3 min read · 09 August 2017
CBRE Group Inc (NYSE: CBG) has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Caledon Capital Management, a Toronto-based portfolio management and advisory firm specializing in infrastructure and private equity investments. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which rebrands Caledon as CBRE Caledon Capital Management and makes it a separate entity within CBRE Global Investors, CBRE's investment management unit. Caledon, which oversees $9 billion in assets, was founded in 2007 by Partner David Rogers. In June, Rogers told PE Hub Canada the acquisition will broaden his firm's client list and increase its geographic footprint.
4 min read · 09 August 2017
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy has closed its buy of about 30 megawatts of hydroelectric facilities from Madison Paper Industries, a U.S.-based partnership of UPM and Northern SC Paper Corp. Terms weren't disclosed. Eagle Creek also bought an interest in the four-megawatt Brassua facility near Rockwood, Maine and a majority stake in the Kennebec Water Power Co, which regulates releases from upstream storage reservoirs on the Kennebec River. Eagle Creek is owned by Hudson Clean Energy Partners and an affiliate of Canada's Power Corp and Claridge, the family office of Stephen Bronfman.
3 min read · 08 August 2017
Vancouver-based mining company North American Nickel Inc (TSX-V: NAN) has launched a non-brokered private placement offering that is expected to raise about $3.1 million. The offering will be made available to certain subscribers, including the Sentient Group, a resource private equity firm based in the Cayman Islands. Sentient currently holds about 62 percent of the company's issued and outstanding shares. North American Nickel said it will use the proceeds for a work program and additional exploration and drilling activities at its Maniitsoq nickel-copper-platinum-group-elements project in Greenland.
4 min read · 08 August 2017
