Private Equity
Toronto-based biotechnology startup Acorn Biolabs has raised $3.3 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was backed by Canadian investors Real Ventures, Globalive Technology, Pool Global Partners and Epic Capital Management, among others. Founded in 2017 by CEO Drew Taylor, CSO Patrick Pumputis and CTO Steven ten Holder, Acorn has developed a home-based, non-invasive solution that allows consumers to collect and preserve live cells for future therapeutic uses. The company, located in MaRS Discovery District's JLABS, will use the funds raised to add to its team and prepare for the technology's commercial launch in Q2 2019.
5 min read · 17 January 2019
Our Home & Miniature Land Inc, a Toronto developer of an indoor miniature attraction, has closed the first of two financing rounds. The undisclosed deal was led by Canadian investment firm Canso Investment Counsel and joined by 98 investors. Founded in 2012 by President Jean-Louis Brenninkmeijer, Our Home & Miniature Land is creating an immersive and interactive attraction showcasing Canadian vistas, landmarks and cities in miniature scale. The company said the current round will close in September. It will launch a second financing when a site facility is located. The attraction is expected to open in 2020.
3 min read · 19 July 2018
Slack, a cloud-based collaboration software provider, has acquired Missions, an app that automates processes and tasks in Slack. The seller was Robots & Pencils, a Calgary-based digital innovation agency. No financial terms were disclosed. Slack said it will build on Missions' technology to help enterprise teams streamline routine tasks, freeing them to do more creative and strategic work. Led CEO Stewart Butterfield, a Canadian entrepreneur, San Francisco-based Slack last year raised US$250 million from SoftBank Group, Accel Partners and other investors. Founded in 2009, Robots & Pencils is backed by U.S. investors Next Sparc and Zanite Ventures.
3 min read · 18 July 2018
Veerum has raised $3.9 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Brick & Mortar Ventures. It was joined by Blackhorn Ventures, Creative Ventures and several unidentified strategic investors in Alberta. Founded in 2014 by CEO Steve Fisher, COO Scott Benesh and Product and Strategy Manager Amit Varma, Calgary-based Veerum develops digital technologies to help manage capital projects. It plans to use the funds raised to expand into the United States and adapt solutions tested in the energy industry to other, large-scale industrial projects, such as facility construction and mining.
3 min read · 10 April 2018
Frank & Oak, a Montréal-based clothing brand, has secured about $20 million (US$16 million) in its latest financing. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec led the round and was joined by other investors, including Goodwater Capital and Investissement Québec. Founded in 2012 by CEO Ethan Song and COO Hicham Ratnani, Frank & Oak provides clothing and accessories for men and women on the web and in 16 boutiques. It will use the funds raised to expand its digital experience and support growth online. Frank & Oak's other investors include BDMI, Campfire Capital, Lightbank, Real Ventures, Rho Canada Ventures and Version One Ventures.
4 min read · 13 February 2018
Beaudier Inc, U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) have agreed to sell as much as 11.5 million subordinate voting shares of BRP Inc (TSX: DOO), a Valcourt, Québec-based maker of powersports vehicles and propulsion systems. The secondary deal, priced at $43.35 per share, will generate proceeds to the selling shareholders of up to $498.5 million. With the offering's close, all three investors will continue to hold stakes in the company. BRP was acquired by the family-owned Beaudier, Bain and CDPQ in 2003. The company went public in 2013.
4 min read · 28 September 2017
Canadian merger and acquisition (M&A) deal values hit a four-year high in the third quarter of 2016 due to several high-profile mega-deals, Crosbie & Co reported. According to data developed from Capital IQ and other sources, 681 deals took $132.4 billion in this period, up from 672 deals worth $79.6 billion a year ago. Enbridge Inc’s offer to buy Spectra Energy Corp, and the planned combination of Agrium Inc and Potash Corp, accounted for about 65 percent of all values. In the domestic market, Crosbie counted 461 deals valued at $46.7 billion in Q3 2016, which is also up from the 433 deals worth $17.7 billion a year ago.
3 min read · 24 November 2016
AT&T, Dish Network Corp and WPP have agreed to acquire Invidi Technologies Corp, a Canadian-born addressable advertising solutions provider. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2017, will see Invidi operate independently under the companies’ collective ownership. AT&T will hold a controlling interest. Founded in 2000, Invidi has raised more than US$132 million in venture capital funding, according to Crunchbase, from such investors as EnerTech Capital, GroupM, InterWest Partners and Menlo Ventures. The Princeton, New Jersey-based company has its Canadian office in Edmonton.
6 min read · 22 November 2016
Isaac Souweine has joined Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Real Ventures as an entrepreneur-in-residence. He will operate from Montréal. Souweine has in recent years served in a number of entrepreneurial roles, including as director of product management at Frank & Oak, an online menswear retailer, between 2013 and 2015. He subsequently assumed a comparable position at Flatbook, a hospitality technology platform. In August 2015, Montréal-based Real Ventures raised $89 million for its third fund, Real Ventures III.
2 min read · 12 September 2016
Canadian merger and acquisition (M&A) activity at home and abroad in the second quarter of 2016 reached its highest level since Q3 2014, despite a substantial drop in deal values, Crosbie & Co reported. Figures developed from Capital IQ and other sources showed 709 deals capturing $47.9 billion in Q2 2016, compared to 652 deals worth $75 billion a year ago. Domestic M&A activity saw year-over-year gains in both volume and dollars invested between April and June, with 482 deals valued at $19.8 billion. Crosbie said the overall increase in M&A transactions was driven in resource sectors, which are experiencing the effects of more stable commodity prices.
3 min read · 11 August 2016
