Kew Media Group, a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has agreed to acquire Frantic Films Corp, a branded content and live-action production company based in Winnipeg. The deal formed part of Kew's proposed qualifying acquisition, which reflects agreements to buy six content companies for an upfront purchase price of about $104.1 million. The SPAC said the companies will create a global media platform. Frantic is a portfolio investment of PRIVEQ Capital Funds, a Canadian mid-market private equity firm. PRIVEQ invested in the business in 2007.
8 min read · 08 February 2017
C100, a Silicon Valley organization established to support Canadian entrepreneurs and startups, has hired Laura Buhler as its new executive director. Buhler succeeded interim Executive Director Terry Doyle, a technology executive who co-chairs the C100 alongside Andreesen Horowitz's Angela Strange. Buhler joined the C100 from Gilt.com, a Hudson's Bay Co affiliate, where she held a variety of executive roles. Prior to then, she was a project manager at the World Economic Forum and a consultant at McKinsey & Co.
2 min read · 08 February 2017
Wiivv Wearables Inc, a Canadian designer and maker of 3D printed insoles and footwear, has secured $4 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by an unidentified U.S. technology investor syndicate and joined by Eclipse VC, Evonik Venture Capital, Real Ventures and Asimov Ventures, all of which participated in the company's seed funding in late 2015. Vancouver-based Wiivv, founded in 2014, also announced its acquisition of eSoles, a U.S. provider of modular, customizable footbeds. Wiivv said the deal will give it data for over 50,000 3D foot scans, which will be used to support footwear product launches in the months ahead.
4 min read · 08 February 2017
Canadian social media management platform Hootsuite has acquired AdEspresso, a U.S. Facebook and Instagram advertising management and optimization tool. No financial terms were disclosed. Hootsuite said AdEspresso's technology will form part of its product, Hootsuite Ads, to help organizations maximize paid, owned and earned content. Founded in 2008, Vancouver-based Hootsuite has raised about US$250 million in venture capital funding from a number of investors, including Accel Partners, Insight Venture Partners and OMERS Ventures. AdEspresso was also venture-backed, raising funding from 500 Startups, VentureFriends, VTF Capital and others.
3 min read · 07 February 2017
Vancouver mining company Hudson Resources Inc has entered into agreements to receive about $30 million in debt financing from the European Investment Bank and Cordiant Capital, a Canadian emerging markets investor. The proceeds of the deal will be used for development of the company's White Mountain anorthosite project in Greenland. Hudson Resources owns 100 percent of the project, which aims to establish a mine to supply feed materials to the fiberglass industry.
2 min read · 07 February 2017
Innova Global Ltd has bought intellectual property (IP) assets of Express Integrated Technologies (EIT), a U.S. designer and maker of heat transfer and combustion engineering equipment for the power and process markets. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which resulted from Innova's bid in a bankruptcy court auction last month. Innova, a Calgary-based specialist in emissions and noise control, said the acquisition will expand its product portfolio. Innova was acquired by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners in 2015. Tulsa, Oklahoma's EIT was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Sterling Group in 2010.
3 min read · 07 February 2017
Canadian venture capital firm Pangaea Ventures has expanded its investment team, hiring Janelle Goulard as director of health investment. Goulard joins the firm after spending eight years in strategic and operations healthcare consulting, including as a senior consultant at GE Healthcare, and in the venture capital industry. Pangaea also promoted Sarah Applebaum to director of Pangaea Spark, the firm's seed program, and Matthew Cohen to director of technology. Vancouver-based Pangaea, which specializes in advanced-materials investing, last month raised about half of the $105 million targeted for its fourth fund.
3 min read · 07 February 2017
U.S. medical device startup VisCardia Inc has closed a US$12.5 million Series B financing. The round was led by Kinetic Capital Partners, a Canadian private equity and late-stage venture capital firm. Founded in 2015, Portland, Oregon-based VisCardia said the funds raised will help it continue development of its novel implantable device therapy for treating heart failure. Concurrent with the Series B, the company said it secured assets and technology rights from Inovise Medical Inc, a medical device specialist also located in Oregon.
4 min read · 07 February 2017
Courts in the United States and Canada have approved the sale of Performance Sports Group Ltd (PSG), a U.S. maker of sports equipment and apparel, to Sagard Capital Partners and Fairfax Financial Holdings. The deal, which includes "substantially all" of the company's assets and North American subsidiaries, is valued at US$575 million. It is expected to close before the end of February. Last month, PSG said it would seek court approval for the "stalking horse" asset-purchase agreement led by Power Corp's Sagard after new bids from private equity firms failed to materialize.
4 min read · 07 February 2017
Anges Québec Capital (AQC) has promoted Kalthoum Bouacida to vice president of investment. In this new role, Bouacida will support the growth of portfolio companies and supervise the preparation of investments. Prior to joining AQC in 2015, Bouacida participated in a number of European Investment Bank venture capital and development funds. She also launched a Tunisian technology fund. AQC was created in 2012 to invest alongside members of Anges Québec, a Montréal-based angel network. Its fund was recapitalized in 2015.
2 min read · 06 February 2017
