Kirk Falconer

Equipment-sharing platform Dozr raises $2.5 mln in funding

Canadian heavy-equipment rental company Dozr Inc has secured $2.5 million in a first-time equity financing, Waterloo innovation hub Communitech reported. The round was backed by FairVentures, the venture capital arm of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Dozr, a participant in the Communitech Rev accelerator program, provides a platform that connects owners of construction equipment with a network of renters. Founded in 2015, the Kitchener, Ontario-based company plans to use its partnership with FairVentures to expand beyond Canada and into the U.S. market, Communitech said.

CRCD exceeds subscription limit, raising $144 mln from investors

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), a retail fund managed by Canadian private equity firm Desjardins Business Capital régional et coopératif, has secured $144.4 million in its 2016 fundraising year. The subscription level exceeded the $135 million ceiling set by the Québec government for tax-subsidized share sales. Montréal-based CRCD, now in its 15th year of operation, has nearly 100,000 shareholders and manages net assets of more than $1.6 billion. In the first half of 2016, the fund reports committing $62 million to deals across Québec.

VC-backed Brika closes first big acquisition with Sonder Mill buy

E-commerce company Brika said it has wrapped up its first major acquisition with the buy of Sonder Mill, a Toronto curated peer-to-peer online marketplace for furniture and housewares. No financial terms were disclosed. Brika, a retailer of well-crafted goods from the artisan and designer community, said the deal enables its entry into the furniture space and will broaden the scope of products on offer. Founded in 2011 by Jennifer Lee Koss and Kena Paranjape, Toronto-based Brika is backed by consumer venture capital firm BrandProject and other investors.

Wellington endows UofT scholarship in honour of Joe Rotman

Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has endowed a University of Toronto scholarship in honour of Joseph Rotman. The firm and the Rotman School of Management established the "Wellington Financial LP Award in Technology Evaluation & Analysis" to help students gain "a better understanding about how to analyze innovation companies" and encourage careers in venture capital, Wellington President and CEO Mark McQueen said. Rotman, who passed away last year, founded Clairvest Group and played a role in launching Wellington.

Penfund closes fifth mid-market fund above hard cap, raising C$724 mln

Beothuk partners with Denmark's CIP to develop offshore wind farm

Beothuk Energy Inc has partnered with Danish infrastructure investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to develop, own and operate offshore wind farms supplying power to Atlantic Canada. The first project will be the 180 megawatt St. George's Bay wind farm in Newfoundland, which has been under development since 2011. Beothuk and CIP will fund additional development, while CIP will invest in the asset's construction. No financial terms were disclosed. Once fully operational, St. George's will be Canada's first offshore wind farm, St. John's-based Beothuk said.

Alberta tech companies grew 48 pct in past four years: AEC

A report by Alberta Enterprise Corp (AEC) said Alberta's innovation sector has grown significantly of late. The 2016 Deal Flow Study found that technology companies based in Alberta, which currently total 1,373, grew 48 percent over the past four years. It also found that one in five technology companies have more than $1 million in annual revenue, while one-third of the total have raised financing from venture capital firms and other investors. AEC said the improved conditions are due to an increasingly mature technology market in Alberta.

IAM lends $15 mln to establish Québec cogeneration facility

IAM Private Debt Group, a division of Integrated Asset Management Corp (TSX: IAM), has provided $15 million in financing to Biomont Energy LP. The loan will fund the construction and operation of a 4.8 megawatt cogeneration facility that will utilize landfill and natural gas to generate electricity and heat. The facility is located near Montréal's Saint Michel Environmental Complex landfill. The project's investors are Eolectric Inc, Valeco Énergie Québec Inc and Fondaction CSN, a Québec venture capital and private equity firm.

Penfund invests $9 mln in support of PSA Healthcare add-on deal

Canadian private equity firm Penfund has provided an incremental US$9 million second lien term facility to Pediatric Services Holding Corp (PSA Healthcare), a provider of home nursing services to medically fragile children in the United States. The proceeds of the investment were used to support PSA's buy of Professional Pediatric Home Care. To date, Atlanta, Georgia-based PSA has secured US$53.5 million in debt and equity financing from Penfund, including a second lien term facility announced in February. The company is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm J.H. Whitney Capital Partners, which acquired it in early 2015.

NAC to raise $25 mln for venture fund earmarked for artists

The National Arts Centre has launched a $25 million fundraising campaign to provide a source of venture capital to artists and art organization in Canada. Winnipeg businesswoman and philanthropist Gail Asper committed $5 million to the campaign, bringing the amount raised so far to $23 million. Details of the new funding model will be released in the coming months, however, the NAC said it will begin investing in the creation of new works of music, dance and theatre by 2017. Based in Ottawa, the NAC is a centre for the performing arts.