A report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) found robust activity in Canada’s venture capital market in the first nine months of 2016 compared against slower deal-making in the private equity space. A total of $2.1 billion of VC has been invested to date, the CVCA found, just 9 percent shy of total activity in 2015. Trends were buoyed by $605 million invested in 111 financings in Q3 2013, which improves on the quarterly average since 2013. In contrast, there were 271 private equity deals valued at $9 billion as of September 30th, down 55 percent from a year ago. The third quarter saw 91 PE transactions valued at $3 billion, which is down in dollar terms from Q3 2015.
5 min read · 17 November 2016
Damiva Inc, a Toronto women’s health company, has closed a $1.2 million seed-stage financing. The investor was KES 7 Capital, a Canadian merchant bank. Founded in 2012 by CEO Chia Chia Sun and President Gardiner Smith, Damiva develops, manufactures and distributes products that address menopausal health issues for women over 40. Having launched in 2014 across most major pharmacy chains in Canada, the company now plans to use the proceeds of the seed round to support operations in advance of a U.S. launch.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Tricor Pacific Founders Capital has acquired the business and assets of Fresh Selections Inc, a Vaughan, Ontario manufacturer of premium, home meal replacement solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Tricor Founders, a Canadian family office, made the investment through Freshstone Kitchen Inc, a new company formed to hold Fresh Selections and similar businesses that may be acquired over time. Fresh Selections is the third platform investment of Tricor Founders, which was launched two years ago by senior professionals at Tricor Pacific Capital. Earlier this year, the firm acquired Totally Chocolate Inc, a U.S. custom chocolate maker.
3 min read · 17 November 2016
Canadian private markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners has recruited Michael Bowman as vice president, private equity. Working from Northleaf’s Toronto office, Bowman will be involved in all aspects of the firm’s investment activity, with a focus on the origination, evaluation and monitoring of equity co-investments and direct secondary investments. Bowman previously served as vice president, corporate development at Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions, a Canadian facility management business acquired last year by Brookfield Asset Managment’s private equity group.
1 min read · 17 November 2016
Canadian energy private equity firm 32 Degrees Capital has promoted Trent Baker to managing partner. Baker, who joined the firm in 2007 from KPMG, will now lead the deal team in sourcing, due diligence and investment monitoring. Managing Partner Larry Evans, a co-founder of Calgary's 32 Degrees, said the appointment will support the firm's rebranding towards an exclusive exploration and production-focused investment strategy. Earlier this year, 32 Degrees invested in the initial $25 million financing of Calgary oil and gas company Rising Star Resources Ltd.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Toronto diagnostic startup ChipCare Corp has so far secured $2.8 million for its planned $18.8 million Series B financing. ChipCare said it retained San Francisco's Biotech Alliances International as the lead investment banker for the fundraising. Founded in 2009, ChipCare leverages technology developed at the University of Toronto to deliver point-of-care diagnostics for HIV and other diseases to hard-to-reach populations. The funds raised will be used to bring its products to market. Last year, ChipCare raised a $5 million Series A financing led by Puffin Partners.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Website creation platform PageCloud Inc has closed a Series A financing, bringing total funds raised to $11.5 million. Key investors include Accomplice, Export Development Canada, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, and several angel investors associated with SalesForce.com, LinkedIn and Shopify. Founded in 2014 by CEO Craig Fitzpatrick, Ottawa's PageCloud has developed technology that simplifies the process of creating and editing websites. Since launching the platform last year, PageCloud has acquired more than 15,000 customers in over 130 countries. It will use the funds raised to scale its team and further develop its product.
3 min read · 17 November 2016
Dane Creek Capital Corp (DCCC), a Canadian merchant banking venture firm, has acquired a 48 percent interest in Midgard Insect Farm Inc, a Halifax producer of insect-based powder that can be used in a variety of industries. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in February by President Joy Hillier, Midgard focuses on the production of cricket meal for the pet food industry. An immediate result of the company's partnership with DCCC will be establishment of a research facility in association with Perennia. Toronto-based DCCC was launched last month by Mark Warren and Glen Tennison to invest in pet-related startups across North America.
5 min read · 17 November 2016
Procurify, a Vancouver cloud and mobile procure-to-pay software company, has raised $7 million in a Series A financing. U.S. venture capital firm Runa Capital led the round. It was joined by Point Nine Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which contributed to the company's seed financing last year. Founded in 2012, Procurify provides spend management software that helps enterprises to make more informed decisions about expenditure. It plans to use the funds raised to "scale aggressively", in part through new hires. With the Series A, Procurify announced its hire of Angela Baldonero as COO.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Canadian growth equity firm Yaletown Partners said it was "rewarded" by this week's sale of Bit Stew Systems Inc to GE Digital. The deal's terms were not disclosed; however, the Globe and Mail reported the value at US$153 million. Yaletown was the first and largest investor in Bit Stew, a Vancouver data integration platform for the industrial internet. Yaletown led the company's Series A round in late 2013 and participated in every financing thereafter. Bit Stew's board was chaired by Yaletown General Partner Salil Munjal. Earlier this year, Yaletown launched its latest fund, Yaletown Emerging Growth Fund, which is targeted to raise $135 million.
3 min read · 16 November 2016
