Private Equity
Seven Generations Energy Ltd has closed its previously announced initial public offering (IPO), raising aggregate gross proceeds of $931.5 million, exceeding its target of $810 million. The Calgary-based company is now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "VII". Seven Generations is focused on a liquids-rich natural gas property in northwest Alberta. Its leading private equity investors are ARC Financial Corp and KERN Partners, which were among its backers at the time of the company's founding in 2008, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which invested at a later date.
2 min read · 05 November 2014
Clearwater Clinical Ltd, a developer of medical devices to enable efficient mobile diagnosis of medical conditions, has secured $2 million in venture capital financing. The round was led by BDC Capital Healthcare Fund, a sector-focused fund managed by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), and was joined by Naavon and Fundfire. The Ottawa-based company said that the funds will help accelerate sales and marketing of its product suite. It was also announced that Michael Weider, who previously founded Blaze Software Inc and Watchfire Corp, has joined Clearwater as its new CEO. Jean-François Pariseau, a BDC partner, has joined the company's board of directors.
3 min read · 04 November 2014
Two principals with RBC Venture Partners have completed a management buyout of the firm's investment portfolio and have launched a new Canadian venture firm, Information Venture Partners.
3 min read · 03 November 2014
Peraso Technologies Inc has secured $20 million in follow-on financing. The round was led by a new investor, Canadian venture capital firm Roadmap Capital, and was joined by existing investors Celtic House Venture Partners, Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund and VentureLink Funds. Based in Toronto, Peraso is a fabless semiconductor company that provides multi-gigabit wireless connectivity solutions. The company intends to use the new funds to bring all of its WiGig technology into production and to increase its sales and marketing activity. Peraso's $10 million Series A financing was completed in 2009. That deal was led by Celtic House with the participation of iNovia Capital and VentureLink.
3 min read · 29 October 2014
Canadian private equity firm Novacap has led a more than $165 million investment in Knowlton Development Corp (KDC), a Knowlton, Québec-based manufacturer of health and beauty products. Novacap was joined in the deal by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, Export Development Canada and Fondaction CSN. Novacap previously invested in KDC in 2002. The investors said a new partnership aims to support KDC's growth plan, which includes reaching a billion dollars in annual revenues within a few years. Novacap managing partner Jacques Foisy was interviewed by peHUB Canada about KDC and the first close of Novacap Industries IV LP.
5 min read · 22 October 2014
Canadian mid-market private equity firm Novacap has not yet begun broad marketing of its fourth traditional industries fund, Novacap Industries IV LP. It has nonetheless already managed a first close that puts it within close reach of its target. Earlier this month, Fund IV secured $300 million in institutional capital commitments, which represents nearly 71 percent of the $425 million targeted in total.
4 min read · 22 October 2014
U.S. public utility holding company Cleco Corp (NYSE: CNL) has agreed to be purchased by a group of North American infrastructure investors led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and British Columbia Investment Management Corp (bcIMC), and that includes John Hancock Financial. The deal values Cleco at around US$4.7 billion, including US$1.3 billion of assumed debt. Based in Pineville, Louisiana, Cleco's primary operating business is Cleco Power LLC, a regulated electric utility. Upon the close of the acquisition, which is expected in to take place in the second half of 2015, the company's new owners will refinance its existing bank debt.
10 min read · 20 October 2014
Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital has opened an office in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. A blog post by firm partner Karamdeep Nijjar said the decision was made because of the high quality of technology product teams being produced by the University of Waterloo, the large number of successful local company founders, and sophisticated local organizations that help build innovative companies, such as Communitech. Based in Montréal and with managed capital totaling $275 million, iNovia is focused on making early-stage investments in digital media, SaaS, e-commerce and connected devices sectors.
4 min read · 16 October 2014
Nulogy Corp, a supply-chain enterprise software company, has raised $7.5 million in financing. The follow-on round was led by Red Sky Capital Management, a Canadian alternative investment firm affiliated with CI Investments, with participation from U.S. technology lender Silicon Valley Bank and existing investors. Nulogy has been previously backed by Canadian venture capital investors Klass Capital and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund. Founded in 2002 and based in Toronto, the company plans to use proceeds from the latest investment to fuel growth and innovation in a market that is estimated to reach $10 billion this year.
3 min read · 09 October 2014
TVM Capital Life Science, a global venture capital firm with an office in Montréal, has closed its TVM Life Science Ventures VlI. Focusing on achieving human clinical proof-of-concept for early-stage drug development projects, Fund VII raised US$201.6 million from cornerstone investors Teralys Capital and Eli Lilly and Co, as well as the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Minnesota Life Insurance Co, CD Venture, Fondaction CSN and a number of pharmaceutical companies. Fund VII targets 12 to 15 project-focused-companies and up to five traditional, syndicated venture capital investments. Earlier this year, it invested in Montréal's PRCL Research Inc, a special purpose company that develops pharmaceutical assets.
5 min read · 06 October 2014
