Garena Interactive Holding Ltd, a Singapore-based Internet and mobile company, has closed a US$170 million Series D financing. The round was led by the Malaysian government's Khazanah Nasional Berhad. Khazanah joins existing investors in Galena, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which has helped the company to raise over US$500 million to date. Ontario Teachers led Garena's prior financing round in March 2015. The company said the proceeds of the latest investment will help launch two new consumer product offerings to customers in Southeast Asia.
4 min read · 31 March 2016
SkySquirrel Technologies Inc, a provider of drone-based technology, has secured $1 million in financing. Canadian venture capital firm Innovacorp invested $500,000 in the round, with an undisclosed private investor accounting for the balance. Based in Halifax, SkySquirrel has developed unmanned aircraft for monitoring crop health, with a focus on improving crop yields and reducing costs at commercial vineyards. Founded in 2012, it currently sells products in Canada, France, Spain, Switzerland, Chile and China. SkySquirrel will use funds raised to enhance its technology and enter new markets.
2 min read · 31 March 2016
MapD, a big data analytics and visualization software company, has raised US$10 million in Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Vanedge Capital, which also invested in MapD's seed round in October 2014. Vanedge was joined by GV, Nvidia and Verizon Ventures. Based in San Francisco, MapD has developed GPU-powered technology that brings speed and interactivity to the data exploration process. With the Series A round, the company marked the public release of its platform. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Vanedge earlier this year raised $104 million in the initial close of its second information technology fund, Vanedge II.
4 min read · 30 March 2016
Private equity and venture capital funds that invest primarily in developed and emerging markets turned in negative returns in the third quarter of 2015, according to Cambridge Associates LLC. At the same time, these funds managed to outperform public markets in those regions. Cambridge's ex US Developed Markets Private Equity and Venture Capital Index returned -0.6 percent for the quarter ending September 30th, as measured in US dollars. Its public market counterpart returned -10.2 percent over the same period.
7 min read · 30 March 2016
CLEARink Displays Inc, a developer of reflective display technology, has raised US$7 million in financing, and expects to raise an additional US$6 million in the months ahead. The investors in the initial round included Canadian venture capital firms Altus Ventures and CrossPacific Capital, as well as Chinese investors. CLEARink said the funds raised will help it commercialize its product in the areas of electronic shelf labels, wearable devices, and mobile devices. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company conducts research and development in Canada and the United States.
3 min read · 30 March 2016
U.S. hedge fund Wynnefield Capital said it is opposed to the sale of Checkpoint Systems Inc (NYSE: CKP), a U.S. provider of merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, to Canada's CCL Industries Inc. Wynnefield, which holds a 2.1 percent interest in Checkpoint, said the latter's board has "accepted a take-under buyout based on a discounted EBITDA multiple and at a price that is 25 percent below where the stock traded just one year ago." CCL, a specialty packaging business, agreed earlier this month to acquire Checkpoint for $556 million. North Star Partners, which holds a 3.9 percent interest in Checkpoint, also opposes the deal.
3 min read · 30 March 2016
Enercare Inc (TSX: ECI) has closed a public offering of subscription receipts to help fund its buy of Service Experts, a U.S. heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) services and repairs provider. Enercare raised gross proceeds of about $239.8 million for the previously-announced deal, which will see the Toronto-based company acquire Service Experts for US$340.75 million. Based in Dallas, Texas, Service Experts, a.k.a. SEHAC Holdings Corp, has been backed by U.S. private equity firm American Capital since 2013.
4 min read · 30 March 2016
One of the co-founders of Toronto-based Relay chats about what he sees in mobile tech
3 min read · 30 March 2016
An affiliate of Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd has agreed to acquire AGF Insurance Ltd, a British regulated insurance business, from European financial services provider Allianz SE. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter. Catalina, a buyer and manager of non-life insurance and reinsurance companies and portfolios in run-off, said the deal is its first significant acquisition of U.K. employers liability legacy risk. Based in Hamilton, Bermuda, Catalina is a portfolio investment of Apollo Global Management, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP).
3 min read · 30 March 2016
CPPIB Credit Investments, the private debt platform of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), has provided 480 million euros ($707 million) to support the acquisition of LeasePlan Corp NV, a Dutch fleet management and driver mobility company. The acquisition, closed earlier this month, saw a consortium of investors, including Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, Danish pension fund ATP, GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Goldman Sachs and TDR Capital, buy LeasePlan from Global Mobility Holding for 3.7 billion euros. Global Mobility Holding is a joint venture of Volkswagen and banker Friedrich von Metzler.
3 min read · 30 March 2016
