Quark Venture and GF Securities Co Ltd have invested US$5 million in Eloxx Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a Rehovot, Israel clinical-stage company that is developing therapeutics to treat genetic diseases caused by non-sense mutations. The investment was part of a US$24 million Series C financing led by Pontifax Venture Capital. The funds raised will be used to initiate multiple clinical studies for the company's lead compound, ELX-02. Quark, a Canadian venture capital firm, and China's GF Securities are currently raising a US$500 million health sciences fund.
4 min read · 08 June 2017
Automat, an artificial intelligence-driven conversational marketing platform, has secured about $11 million (US$8.3 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by U.S. brandtech company You & Mr Jones. It was joined by new investors Comcast Ventures and Omidyar Technology Ventures as well as follow-on investors Relay Ventures, Real Ventures and USAA. Launched last year, Automat enables personalized one-on-one conversations between marketers and customers. Led by CEO Andy Mauro, the company will use the funds raised to grow engineering, research and product teams, and further business development, sales and marketing efforts.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has made a $100 million growth equity investment in AvidXchange, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based provider of accounts payable and payment automation solutions. The investment was part of a $300 million funding round with contributions from Mastercard, Temasek and Peter Thiel. FT Partners served as strategic and financial adviser to AvidXchange on the transaction.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has made a US$100 million growth equity investment in AvidXchange, a Charlotte, North Carolina provider of accounts payable and payment automation solutions. The investment formed part of a US$300 million round with contributions from Mastercard, Temasek and Peter Thiel. CDPQ's Aviva Shneider said AvidXchange is "exactly the kind of financial technology company" the Canadian pension fund has been seeking to back. AvidXchange said the partnership with CDPQ will help it expand its product offering in new markets and serve new clients outside of the United States.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Canadian metals and materials manufacturing company BlackRock Metals Inc has raised $40 million in equity financing from Orion Mine Finance Group, a U.S. private equity firm. Founded in 2008, BlackRock is developing a vanadium and titanium bearing magnetite and ilmenite deposit in Québec. It said the funds raised will support the completion of technical designs, permitting, equipment orders, initial construction work and other priorities. Montréal-based BlackRock said it will focus on putting together a construction financing package for its $950 million project with Orion and other investors later in 2017.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Array Canada Inc, acquired in 2015 by U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group, has bought 100 percent of Summit Manufacturing LLC, a New York manufacturer of point-of-sale merchandising, retail displays and fixtures. The terms of the deal, closed last month, were not released. Array, a Toronto provider of in-store merchandising services for cosmetic and apparel retailers and brand manufacturers, said the buy enhances its capacity, geography and client reach. Carlyle acquired Array from Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners. TorQuest, which invested in 2012, reported earning 5x its money and a 61 percent return with the sale.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
U.S. angel investment firm WorldQuant Ventures has invested in Canalyst, a Canadian equity research technology provider for institutional finance professionals. The investment's value was not disclosed. The deal will allow Canalyst to enhance its cloud-based, on-demand equity model database by enabling analytics capabilities and expanding coverage for small- and mid-cap companies. Launched in 2015, Vancouver-based Canalyst last year raised $2.7 million in seed financing led by Canadian venture capital firm Vanedge Capital. The startup is led by Founder and CEO Damir Hot.
2 min read · 08 June 2017
Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund (NVCF) has provided a $15 million lead commitment to Lumira Capital IV, a late-stage life sciences fund managed by Canadian venture capital firm Lumira Capital. With the commitment, NVCF, a fund of funds managed by Northleaf Capital Partners, reached full investment. Capitalized at $300 million in mid-2015, NVCF has committed to 13 funds and made 11 direct investments. It has backed Lumira funds since 2012. Last year, it invested alongside Lumira in Vancouver-based biotherapeutics company Zymeworks, which went public last month. NVCF is overseen by Northleaf Director Ian Carew.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Oakcreek Golf and Turf LP has acquired Simpson Norton Corp, a Goodyear, Arizona-based distributor of commercial turf maintenance and irrigation equipment, systems and parts in the United States. No financial terms were released. Calgary-based Oakcreek is a supplier of Toro commercial turf equipment, Yamaha golf cars and PistenBully snowcats. Established in 1969, it is a portfolio investment of Banyan Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity firm. Banyan's Jeff Wigle said the Simpson deal is a "significant milestone" for Oakcreek. Banyan will continue to invest in the company's growth into new markets and acquisition activity, he added.
3 min read · 08 June 2017
Clairvest Group and Yaletown Partners are the 2017 recipients of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association's (CVCA) Deal of the Year awards. Toronto-based Clairvest won in the private equity category for its recent sale of outdoor advertising business Cieslok Media Inc to Bell Media Inc. The sale provided Clairvest with cash proceeds equal to 8.4x invested capital and an IRR of 92 percent. Vancouver-based Yaletown won in the venture capital category for last year's sale of industrial internet platform Bit Stew Systems Inc to GE Digital. The sale gave Yaletown 7x on its initial outlay, and a total of 4.3x on combined rounds, resulting in an IRR of 98.3 percent.
6 min read · 08 June 2017
