4 min read · 16 March 2017
Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd (TSX: PPY) has agreed to buy the issued and outstanding shares of UGR Blair Creek Ltd, an operator of natural gas assets in the Montney resource play in British Columbia, close to Painted Pony's existing asset base. Calgary's Painted Pony agreed to pay about $277 million, including debt, for the business. The seller is Unconventional Resources Canada LP, a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm ARC Financial Corp and U.S. private equity firm EnCap Investments. As a result of the deal, ARC and EnCap will become indirect investors in Painted Pony, and will each be able to nominate a member to the board.
10 min read · 16 March 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has invested in Datamars Inc, a Swiss provider of identification solutions to track livestock, companion animals and textiles. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which resulted in the Caisse becoming the company's largest investor, alongside senior management and European private equity firm Columna Capital. Columna, which has backed Datamars since 2011, was said last year to be planning a sale of the business in a deal valued at more than US$306 million. Stéphane Etroy, co-head of direct investment, private equity at the Caisse, said the pension fund will support Datamars' growth strategy.
3 min read · 15 March 2017
ZoomMed Inc (TSX-V: ZMD) has raised $500,000 in debt financing from Persistence Capital Partners, a Canadian healthcare private equity firm. Brossard, Québec-based ZoomMed is the builder and operator of a clinical information exchange platform between physicians and other stakeholders, such as pharmacists, healthcare specialists, pharmaceutical companies and private insurers. It said it will use the loan's proceeds as working capital.
2 min read · 15 March 2017
Visier Inc, a Canadian workplace intelligence solutions provider, has raised more than $60 million (US$$45 million) in a Series D financing. A new investor, U.S. venture capital firm Sorenson Capital, led the round and was joined by Foundation Capital, Summit Partners and Adams Street Partners, which also invested in the company's Series C in 2014. Founded in 2010 by CEO John Schwarz and CTO Ryan Wong, Vancouver-based Visier provides applied big data cloud technology to support organizations as they recruit, retain and develop their workforce. It plans to use the funds raised to meet demand for the platform and grow its global and partner ecosystems.
4 min read · 15 March 2017
Realvision, a Canadian interactive property listings specialist, has secured $1.3 million in a seed-stage financing. U.S. venture capital firm Dundee Venture Capital led the round with participation from Brightstone Venture Capital, Loup Ventures, Sandalphon Capital, Bridge Investment Group and 701 Angel Fund. Founded in 2013, Realvision is a B2B technology company that helps real estate agents market properties using interactive 3D tours, photos and other resources. It plans to use the funds raised to accelerate product development. Based in Toronto, Realvision also has an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
Canadian private investment firm Hillcore Group has acquired Academy Fabricators Group, an Edmonton-based pipeline and pipe spooling fabricator. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which facilitated a buyout of the company by the management team. Ryan Bourke, who founded Academy in 1995, will be turning over the presidency role to Dustin Medori, who is currently a vice president. Hillcore specializes in acquiring industrial businesses in Canada, with a particular emphasis on supporting management buyouts. It bought Abacus Private Equity in 2012.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
Canadian private-markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners has hired Simon Bibeau as an associate with the firm's infrastructure team. Bibeau, formerly an investment banking analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co, will focus on market research, transaction due diligence, execution and asset management. He will operate from Northleaf's Toronto office. In January, Northleaf closed its second OECD-focused infrastructure fund at its $950 million hard-cap target.
2 min read · 14 March 2017
Canadian specialty tea retailer DavidsTea Inc (Nasdaq: DTEA) has appointed Joel Silver as its president and CEO. He succeeds Christine Bullen, who served as the company's interim head and will now return to her prior role as U.S. managing director. Silver joins DavidsTea with more than 20 years of consumer industry experience, most recently as general partner of TrilogyGrowth, a Canadian consumer-focused venture capital firm he co-founded. Silver previously served in a number of senior executive roles, including as president of Indigo Books & Music Inc. Montréal's DavidsTea went public in 2015.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
Canadian private equity firm Bonnefield Financial has unveiled a new evergreen fund to invest in Canadian farmland. Bonnefield Canadian Farmland Evergreen LP held an initial close in January, raising about $80 million from investors. The fund, which will continue to raise capital throughout 2017, will help expand Bonnefield's portfolio of farm assets through sale-leasebacks with farmers looking to grow or manage succession plans. Portfolio assets are currently located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. Led by President and CEO Tom Eisenhauer, Bonnefield also raises institutional funds. Fund IV secured an initial $60 million last year.
3 min read · 14 March 2017
