Concordia Healthcare Corp (NASDAQ: CXRX, TSX: CXR) has completed its purchase of Amdipharm Mercury Ltd, a London, U.K.-based pharmaceutical company. The deal, announced in September, was valued at US$3.3 billion, including debt. The sellers included European private equity firm Cinven, which as a result of the transaction will assume a 14.2 percent investment stake in Concordia. Concordia, which has its headquarters in Oakville, Ontario, said the acquisition has diversified its drug portfolio and increased its size to more than 200 products sold in over 100 countries.
7 min read · 22 October 2015
Calgary-based Steelhead Petroleum Ltd has been launched with initial financing from ARC Financial Corp, a Canadian energy private equity firm. The investment's value was not disclosed, however, Steelhead said it is looking to deploy about $150 million to $200 million of equity to capture and develop quality oil resource opportunities. It plans to focus on conventional assets with large original oil in place and low declines that can be optimized through full-cycle field development. Chris Seasons, a senior advisor and director of ARC, will chair Steelhead's board of directors. In June, ARC closed its eighth fund, ARC Energy Fund 8, at $1.5 billion in committed capital.
2 min read · 22 October 2015
The Upside Foundation of Canada, a Toronto-based charity launched in 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs, investors and other professionals, has devised a plan for encouraging Canada’s high-growth companies to share their good fortune with others. A clue to the strategy is in the organization’s name.
3 min read · 22 October 2015
The Saskatchewan government is introducing legislative amendments to restrict the ownership of farmland. The proposed amendments include making pension plans, administrators of pension fund assets, and trusts ineligible to buy farmland. They also define “having an interest in farmland” to include any type of interest or benefit that is "normally associated" with owning land. The financing of a purchase of farmland must also be through a financial institution registered to do business in Canada, or a Canadian resident. Earlier this year, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) expressed concern about efforts to limit farmland investment in Saskatchewan.
3 min read · 21 October 2015
Joshua Harris, senior managing director of Apollo Global Management, will be the keynote speaker at the 13th annual Capital Connection Conference of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Toronto chapter. Co-founded by Harris in 1990, Apollo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with US$163 billion in assets under management. The ACG Toronto event will take place on November 2nd and 3rd at Toronto's Allstream Centre.
3 min read · 20 October 2015
A new survey conducted by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) found six out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada showed weak or negative growth in the last three years. Small business leaders cited a number of key barriers to growth, including rising operating costs, difficulties in hiring and retaining qualified personnel, and external competition. The BDC report, released as part of BDC Small Business Week 2015, at the same time found 30 percent of SMEs showed strong growth and profits. Solutions most likely to improve circumstances for struggling SMEs include client-centric strategies, stronger talent pools, innovation and investment.
3 min read · 20 October 2015
U.S. private equity firm BV Investment Partners has made an investment in geoLOGIC systems Ltd, a Canadian provider of data and software decision support systems to the upstream oil and gas industry and related industries in North America. No financial terms were disclosed. BV acquired shares held by geoLOGIC's founders, Joe Harris and Denise Harris. The deal was done in collaboration with President and CEO David Hood, who will retain his interest in the Calgary-based company. As a result of the investment, BV Managing Director Justin Harrison and Principal Justin Garrison have joined geoLOGIC's board of directors.
3 min read · 19 October 2015
Sequence Bio, a life sciences data and analytics platform, recently closed a $1 million seed financing deal. Canadian private equity firm Killick Capital accounted for $500,000 of the total amount. The round includes Pelorus Venture Capital's previously-announced investment in the company in July. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador-based Sequence Bio said it has also been backed by Klister Credit Corp. The funding was noted in an announcement by Sequence Bio of a new research and development agreement reached in partnership with the provincial government.
2 min read · 19 October 2015
Georgian Partners will soon realize two software investments it made seven years ago, just when the Toronto-based growth equity firm was getting started. E-signature solutions provider Silanis Technology and big data software company Syncsort, the earliest deals of Georgian Partners’ first applied analytics fund, both entered into sales agreements in October.
3 min read · 16 October 2015
U.S.-based data stream network PubNub has wrapped up its Series C financing at US$25 million in total. Sapphire Ventures led the round, which included Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures, Envision Ventures and Relay Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm that led the company’s Series A round in 2012. PubNub, which has its headquarters in San Francisco, said the investment's proceeds will help accelerate its global growth in industrial Internet of Things applications, clean energy and social collaboration applications.
3 min read · 15 October 2015
