Canada

CDPQ, Inovia to reduce Lightspeed stakes in secondary offering

Lightspeed POS (TSX: LSPD), a Montréal-based retail and restaurant point-of-sale and e-commerce platform, has filed a preliminary supplement to an August 6 prospectus for an offering of subordinate voting shares. A total of about 6.6 million shares will be offered for sale, about 5.4 million of which will be offered by selling shareholders, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Inovia Capital. The price of the shares to be sold was not released. The offering includes a greenshoe option. Lightspeed completed an initial public offering (IPO) in Canada earlier this year, raising $276 million. The IPO valued the company at $1.5 billion.

Japan's Recruit invests in Properly's Series A financing

A venture capital fund affiliated with Japan's Recruit Co Ltd has made an undisclosed investment in Properly, a Toronto-based real estate technology provider. Properly earlier announced the close of its $22 million Series A financing, the equity portion of which was led by Prudence Holdings and FJ Labs. Recruit was not identified as an investor. Based in Tokyo, Recruit is a provider of recruitment advertising, sales promotion and staffing services. It said it aims to support the growth of Properly along with improvement of the company's services.

Family office Cunaxa Ventures acquires NFE Manufacturing

Canadian family office Cunaxa Ventures has acquired NFE Manufacturing Inc, a Chemainus, British Columbia-based fabrication, engineering and field fabrication business. No financial terms were disclosed. Established in 1888, NFE provides custom fabrication, machining, engineering design, water jet, industrial coatings and installation services to a range of industries, including oil and gas, hydro electricity, mining, shipping and aerospace. It has been led since 2005 by President Marc Langevin. Based in Vancouver, Cunaxa invests in manufacturing and financial technology companies in North America and Europe.

Real estate tech startup Properly nabs $22 mln in Series A round

Toronto-based real estate technology provider Properly has raised $22 million in Series A financing, consisting of $12 million in equity and an initial $10 million debt facility. The equity funding was led by U.S. venture capital firms Prudence Holdings and FJ Labs, with participation from Golden Ventures, AlleyCorp's Kevin Ryan and others. Founded in 2018 by CEO Anshul Ruparell, COO Sheldon McCormick and CTO Craig Dunk, Properly uses machine learning to help homeowners discover what their home would sell for on the open market, with the option to sell directly to Properly. The company will use the funds raised to accelerate expansion in Canada, enhance its technology, and add to its team.

CBGF, BGF team up in $15 mln investment in Appnovation

Vancouver-based digital consultancy Appnovation has secured a $15 million minority investment from Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) and U.K.-based BGF. Founded in 2007 by CEO Arnold Leung, Appnovation provides a range of digital solutions and support services to businesses, government agencies, higher education institutions and non-profit organizations worldwide. The company plans to use the financing's proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and scale internationally. The Appnovation deal marks the first partnership of CBGF and BGF. CBGF, which launched in 2018 with a $545 million evergreen fund backed by 13 financial institutions, was patterned after the British investor.

Brookfield to acquire control of Genworth Canada for $2.4 bln

The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire a 57 percent controlling interest in Genworth MI Canada Inc (TSX: MIC), an Oakville, Ontario-based private residential mortgage insurer. The deal, which reflects a purchase price of about $2.4 billion, is expected to close in the second half of 2019. The seller is Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE: GNW), a Richmond, Virginia-based insurance holding company. Genworth Canada, through its subsidiary Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Co Canada, provides mortgage default insurance to Canadian residential mortgage lenders. Last month, Genworth Financial said it was considering strategic alternatives for Genworth Canada.

Universal mCloud nabs $13 mln loan from former IAM fund

Universal mCloud Corp (TSX-V: MCLD) has received a $13 million loan from Integrated Private Debt Fund VI. The proceeds will be used to support the recent acquisition of Autopro Automation Consultants Inc, a Calgary-based engineering consulting firm specializing in automation solutions, reduce debt, and provide working capital. Based in Vancouver, Universal mCloud provides artificial intelligence-enabled technology solutions to help businesses manage their energy assets. Integrated Private Debt Fund VI closed this year at $843 million. Its manager, Integrated Asset Management Corp, was later acquired by Fiera Capital Corp.

Pangaea co-leads Hazel Technologies' $13 mln Series B deal

Hazel Technologies Inc, a Chicago-based agricultural technology company focused on combating food waste, has raised US$13 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by Pangaea Ventures, a Canadian advanced materials venture capital firm, and S2G Ventures, a U.S. food and agriculture venture capital firm. They were joined by existing investors. Founded in 2015, Hazel develops new technologies to extend the quality shelf life of fresh produce. It plans to use the funds raised to grow the company's main product line and launch new solutions. Earlier this year, Pangaea closed its fourth fund, securing $95 million (US$70 million).

Freshly capitalized Fiix acquires U.S.-based Alchemy IoT

Fiix, a Toronto-based maintenance and asset management software provider, has acquired Alchemy IoT, a Lafayette, Colorado-based industrial asset intelligence company. No financial terms were disclosed. Fiix said the acquisition will bring artificial intelligence capabilities to its computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) products. The deal follows the close earlier this year of Fiix's $53 million (US$40 million) Series C financing. The round was led by Georgian Partners and joined by BuildGroup.

Agtech provider SomaDetect raises $2.6 mln in seed financing

Fredericton-based agricultural technology company SomaDetect has closed a seed-stage financing, raising about $2.6 million (US$2 million). New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, the Western New York Impact Investment Fund and New York Ventures invested in the round. SomaDetect previously secured seed funding from Builders VC, Cavallo Ventures, Dairy Farmers of America and iGan Partners. Founded in 2016 by CEO Bethany Deshpande, SomaDetect has created an in-line sensor that measures critical indicators of dairy quality and health from cows at milking. It will use the financing's proceeds to expand its collection of data points from farms across North America.