Canada

Clean food tech provider Terramera locks in Series B

Vancouver, British Columbia-based Terramera, a clean food technology provider, has raised US$45 million in Series B funding. Ospraie Ag Science and Seed2Growth Ventures led the round. The capital will be used to enable Terramera to scale its technology. In addition to the funding, Terramera has named Jeff Booth as board chair and Carl Casale, lead investor of Ospraie Ag Science, to its board of directors.

Toronto fintech firm PayBright nabs $34 mln

Toronto-based PayBright, a fintech lending and payments provider, has raised $34 million in funding. The backer was goeasy Ltd. This transaction follows a recent fundraising led by the Canadian Business Growth Fund with participation from PayBright's return backers that included iA Financial Group. The total equity raised in the two transactions were $60 million.

Repare Therapeutics picks up Series B funding

Montreal and Boston-based Repare Therapeutics, a precision oncology company, has closed US$82.5 million in Series B financing. Cowen Healthcare Investments led the round. Other participants in the financing included OrbiMed, Redmile, BVF Partners LP, Logos Capital, Versant Ventures, MPM Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and BDC Capital. In addition to the funding, Kevin Raidy, managing partner at Cowen Healthcare Investments and Dr. David Bonita, a partner at OrbiMed, will join Repare’s board of directors.

Bourque to join White Star's new Toronto office as GP

Christophe Bourque will become a general partner at White Star Capital's new Toronto office, according to a Medium blog post. Bourque originally joined the firm's Montreal office two years ago. White Star opened its first Canadian office in Montreal in 2014. White Star Capital is a tech-focused early-stage venture firm that invests in North America and Europe.

Global Excel funds BeniPlus

BeniPlus Inc, a provider of group benefits to small businesses in Canada, announced has secured a second round of seed funding from Global Excel Management Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. Global Excel Management made its first investment in BeniPlus in May 2018. With offices in Quebec, Miami, and Mexico, Global Excel is a cost containment, claims management and medical assistance company.

Sedgwick buys York Risk Services Group

Sedgwick has acquired York Risk Services Group, a provider of claims administration, managed care, specialized loss adjusting, pool administration and loss control solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. As part of the transaction, entities controlled by Onex Corporation, the Canadian investment firm that owned York, are rolling their equity into the combined business and have become a minority investor. BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley served as financial advisers to Sedgwick while Jefferies LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC did likewise for York. Sedgwick is backed by The Carlyle Group, Stone Point Capital LLC and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Cannabis martech platform Fyllo nabs seed funding

Fyllo, a marketing tech platform for the cannabis industry, has raised US$16 million in seed funding. JW Asset Management and Canadian-based K2 & Associates led the round. In addition to the funding, Jason Klarreich, managing director of JW Asset Management, will join Fyllo's board of directors.

Ventas and Le Groupe Maurice invest in Canadian senior housing assets

Ventas Inc, a healthcare real estate investment trust, has teamed up with Le Groupe Maurice, a Montreal-based builder and developer of retirement homes, to invest in a portfolio of apartment-like senior housing assets in Quebec. No financial terms were disclosed. The value of the portfolio is US$1.8 billion. Ventas' portfolio includes assets in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Ventas is headquartered in Chicago.

Vensana wraps up inaugural medtech fund

Vensana Capital, which was launched by healthcare-focused venture firm Versant Ventures, has closed its debut fund at US$225 million. Vensana Capital I's limited partners include public pensions, university endowments, foundations, academic health systems, family offices and fund-of-funds. The fund will invest in the medical tech sector. Versant's offices include San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City and Vancouver, British Columbia.

OrbiMed-backed Bellus Health to list on NASDAQ

Laval, Québec-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Bellus Health Inc has filed for a US$60 million public offering and to list on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "BLU." Jefferies, Cowen and Guggenheim are serving as lead underwriters. Bellus Health's backers include OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Power Corporation of Canada, Rocabe Investments Inc., New Leaf Venture Partners, First Manhattan Co and Samsara BioCapital.