The Fonds de solidarité FTQ said it will invest $1 billion in innovation and venture capital market activities over the next five years. The announcement was made at last week's Invest Canada '17 conference in Montréal, which was jointly sponsored by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association and Réseau Capital. The Fonds participates in the domestic venture capital market via direct investments and commitments to specialized funds. It also backs a variety of ecosystem development programs. Based in Montréal, the Fonds oversees $12.2 billion in net assets.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
Howard Midstream Energy Partners LLC has partnered with WPX Energy Inc (NYSE: WPX) in a joint venture to develop crude oil and natural gas gathering and processing infrastructure in the Delaware Basin in New Mexico and Texas. The joint venture is being funded by Singapore's GIC Private Ltd and existing investors in the company, Alinda Capital Partners and Alberta Investment Management Co (AIMCo). An initial US$563 million of new capital will be committed to the initiative. AIMCo last year acquired a 28 percent interest in San Antonio, Texas-based Howard Midstream.
4 min read · 13 June 2017
U.S. private equity firm Audax Private Equity has acquired Altasciences Company Inc, a Laval, Québec-based early-phase clinical research organization (CRO) operating across North America. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done by Audax in partnership with the company's management. The seller is Canadian private equity firm Kilmer Capital Partners, which invested in Altasciences in 2007. Altasciences combines Algorithme Pharma, Vince & Associates and Algorithme Pharma USA. The latter two companies were added-on with Kilmer's support. Audax said it will back Altasciences' continued organic and acquisition-led growth.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
Local Logic Inc, a Montréal specialist in urban data collection and analysis, has secured $1.15 million in a first-time financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Cycle Capital Management, with participation from BDC Capital, 500 Startups Canada and Yellow Pages Group. Founded in 2014, Local Logic is focused on collecting, cleaning, and combining data to help consumers, real estate companies, investors, urban planners and others make more informed decisions about locations. Led by CEO Vincent-Charles Hodder, it plans to use the funds raised to expand into the United States and develop new markets for its technology.
3 min read · 13 June 2017
Tricor Pacific Founders Capital has acquired Keybrand Foods Inc, a Kitchener, Ontario manufacturer of branded and private label wet salads, hand-rolled products and fruit salads. The deal's financial terms were not released. Tricor Founders, a Canadian private equity family office, made the investment through Freshstone Brands Inc, a newly formed company under Freshstone Kitchen Inc, a prepared-foods investment platform. The investor also said it hired Steven Diakowsky as Freshstone Brands' President and CEO. In February, PE Hub Canada interviewed Richard Harris about Tricor Founders' strategy in the food, beverage and consumer-packaged-goods sectors.
3 min read · 13 June 2017
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has provided US$24 million in debt financing to Exari, a Boston-based provider of enterprise contract management software. The funds raised will be used to support the company's acquisition of Adsensa, a U.K. supplier of document intelligence solutions. Beacon Equity Partners, a U.S. private equity firm that initially invested in Exari in 2008, also contributed funding. Exari said the deal will create a complete contract lifecycle management platform for customers. Wellington closed its fifth fund at its hard-cap target of $300 million in 2015.
3 min read · 12 June 2017
Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures has closed its second fund at more than $30 million. Impression Ventures Fund II, which invests in early-stage financial technology companies in Canada, was backed by a range of global limited partners, including institutional investors, family offices and entrepreneurs, as well as almost two dozen current and former senior bank and financial executives. Impression also announced the hire of Maor Amar as a managing partner. Amar, who previously worked at BMO Capital Markets and UBS Investment Bank, operates from Montréal. Toronto-based Impression was founded in 2013 by Managing Partner Christian Lassonde.
3 min read · 12 June 2017
World Oil Tools Inc, a Calgary maker and supplier of specialty inflatable products and technology consumed in downhole completions operations, has been acquired by Rubicon Oilfield International Holdings LP. No financial terms were disclosed. Rubicon, a Houston, Texas manufacturer of oilfield products, said the deal will strengthen its downhole completions solutions. Rubicon is backed by a line-of-equity investment of up to US$300 million from Warburg Pincus, a U.S. private equity firm. Last October, the company acquired Logan International Inc.
4 min read · 12 June 2017
Nutrinor Inc has acquired a majority interest in Fromagerie Champêtre, a Repentigny, Québec maker of a range of cheese products. No financial terms were disclosed. Saint-Bruno, Québec-based Nutrinor, a cooperative that operates a line of agriculture, agrifood, energy and hardware retailing businesses, now co-owns the company with Capital croissance PME, a private equity fund. The fund is sponsored by Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
3 min read · 12 June 2017
Aptean, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, has acquired FDM Software, a Vancouver provider of records management, computer-aided dispatch, mapping and analysis solutions for public safety agencies. No financial terms were released. Atlanta, Georgia-based Aptean said the deal will strengthen and expand its suite of mission critical enterprise software solutions. The company was formed with Vista's merger of CDC Software Inc and Consona Corp in 2012.
3 min read · 12 June 2017
