Private Equity
Canadian venture capital firm AVAC has announced a partnership with Finistere Ventures, a U.S. venture capital firm focused on investing in agricultural technology and life sciences sectors. The announcement was made at the first close of Finistere's agricultural technology fund, Finistere II, which is targeted to raise US$150 million. Dr. Michael Raymont, CEO of AVAC, said the partnership is intended in part to leverage R&D investments being made in Canadian universities and institutions and to create more access to talent and ecosystems in the United States.
5 min read · 25 February 2015
Comet Biorefining Inc has raised an undisclosed amount of funding. Sofinnova Partners, a French venture capital firm, led the round. Based in London, Ontario, Comet Biorefining is a provider of high-quality, cost-competitive cellulosic glucose technology for applications in renewable biofuels and biochemicals. It said investment proceeds will be used to complete the design of its commercial facility, expand its team and continue to develop commercial partnerships. The company was founded by CTO Dr. Andrew Richard.
3 min read · 25 February 2015
Q4 Web Systems Inc has received $5 million in venture capital funding. The deal was led by Canadian venture capital firm Plaza Ventures and was joined by U.S. firm Atlas Venture. Silicon Valley Bank also contributed to the financing. Based in Toronto, Q4 is a SaaS-based financial content and data analytics platform for delivering investor websites, mobile applications and intelligence to CFOs and the investor relations departments of public businesses. The company said it will use funding proceeds to expand product engineering and sales teams. Established in 2006, Q4 is led by CEO Darrell Heaps.
4 min read · 24 February 2015
Online lending company FundThrough has been officially launched with a $2.2 million financing round led by Canadian venture capital firm Real Ventures. Other investors in the deal included Origin Merchant Partners, Five Elements Ventures, Barlow Lane Holdings, Jim Case and Peter Carrescia. Based in Toronto, FundThrough has developed a technology platform that offers lines of credit to small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. It said investment proceeds will be used to scale the platform in order to serve more customers. FundThrough was co-founded by Steven Uster, Graham McBride and Deepak Ramachandran.
3 min read · 24 February 2015
Canadian venture capital firm McRock Capital has led a $3 million Series A financing of RtTech Software Inc, a Moncton, New Brunswick-based developer of software apps that provide operational intelligence for industrial facilities. New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, which invested in the company in 2012, also participated in the round. The McRock investment was made by McRock iNFund, an industrial Internet of Things fund. Last month, the fund secured commitments from Cisco Investments, Teralys Capital and BDC Capital. As a result of the close of RtTech's Series A round, McRock's Scott MacDonald and Whitney Rockley have joined the company's board of directors.
2 min read · 24 February 2015
A trio of British private equity firms have set their sights on Canadian live performance company Cirque du Soleil, according to a report from U.K. media outlet Sky News.
2 min read · 20 February 2015
Tealium Inc has secured US$30.7 million in a Series D financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Georgian Partners and included a "major investment" from U.S. firm Bain Capital Ventures. Existing investors Battery Ventures, Tenaya Capital and Presidio Ventures also backed the round. Tealium, a provider of enterprise tag management and real-time unified marketing solutions, said the new funds will support is continued expansion, both domestically and internationally, and help accelerate product innovation. With the round's close, Justin LaFayette, co-founder and managing partner of Georgian Partners, will join Tealium’s board of directors.
4 min read · 17 February 2015
Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners has raised $500 million in the final close of TriWest Capital Partners Fund V LP, targeted to investments in mid-market companies based in Western Canada. Cody Church, senior managing director of TriWest Capital, said Fund V was oversubscribed, with commitments coming from new and existing North American LPs. The fund is the largest raised in the Calgary-based firm's 17-year history, exceeding by 43 percent the $350 million secured by Fund IV (2012).
3 min read · 17 February 2015
MappedIn Inc has secured $600,000 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). FedDev Ontario said the investment is leveraging up to $1.2 million from local angel investors and venture capitalists. The FedDev Ontario funds are intended to help MappedIn commercialize and diversify sales of its indoor mapping software technology in North America and internationally. Founded in 2011, the company is based in Kitchener, Ontario.
3 min read · 12 February 2015
Gymtrack Inc has secured $2.5 million in a seed-stage financing round led by White Star Capital and Real Ventures. Other investors in the deal included 500 Startups and BDC Capital. Based in Ottawa, Gymtrack is a provider of exercise planning and virtual coaching software and devices that help individuals track their workouts. Co-founded in 2014 by Lee Silverstone and Pablo Srugo, the company is a recent graduate of 500 Startups' accelerator program. Gymtrack’s technology, which is currently available at a number of sites in Canada, will later this year be introduced to additional gyms and fitness facilities, the company said.
3 min read · 11 February 2015
