Private Equity
Toronto-based venture firm iGan Partners has hired Stacey Kline as an impact partner. Kline is the managing director of The Good Fund, an impact fund that invests in startups "solving some of the world's biggest challenges." Prior to founding The Good Fund, Kline worked at Goodmans LLP where she was the director of innovation projects.
2 min read · 01 October 2019
7shifts, a Saskatoon-based provider of restaurant employee scheduling solutions, has secured $7.9 million (US$6 million) in financing. Napier Park Financial Partners, which led the company's $13.4 million Series A round earlier this year, also led the supplementary round. It was joined by existing investor Relay Ventures and new investor Conexus Credit Union. 7shifts will use the new funds raised to expand its North American restaurant footprint.
3 min read · 01 October 2019
Canadian impact venture capital firm Renewal Funds has closed its latest fund, Renewal4, at $145 million. The fund was backed by more than 140 investors, including BDC Capital, The Co-operators and the clean technology stream of Ottawa's Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). Based in Vancouver, Renewal Funds invests in environmental technology and sustainable consumer products across North America. The fundraising brings the firm's total assets under management to $240 million.
3 min read · 30 September 2019
Georgian Partners is targeting nearly $1 billion (US$750 million) for its fifth growth equity fund, according to an SEC filing. The filing confirms a June report by the Globe and Mail. Toronto-based Georgian has a North America investment strategy focused on applied analytics, as well as applied artificial intelligence, conversational business, and security in software design. The firm closed Georgian Partners Growth Fund IV last year at its $715 million (US$550 million) hard cap.
1 min read · 27 September 2019
FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund has provided seed capital to Ontario-based medical device and new therapeutic platform technologies. The recipients to secure this financing are Xpan Inc, a medical device startup; Dr. Igor Stagljar of the University of Toronto; and the Drug Discovery Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Xpan Inc is developing surgical access ports that aim to increase safety and efficiency of minimally invasive surgeries. Dr. Stagljar is developing a system for detecting protein-protein interactions in real time for drug discovery applications while OICR's Drug Discovery Program is developing a platform targeting multiple members of the WD40 repeat domain family with small molecules. No financial terms were disclosed.
4 min read · 26 September 2019
Eavor, a Canadian cleantech startup, has raised C$15 million in Series A funding. The investors included Vickers Venture Partners. The capital infusion will be used for growth.
1 min read · 25 September 2019
Verafin, a Canadian financial crime management software company, has completed a $515 million equity and debt recapitalization. Proceeds of the recap will be used for growth. Investors in the equity round were Spectrum Equity, Information Venture Partners, Northleaf Capital Partners, BDC Capital and Teralys Capital. Wells Fargo Capital Finance led the senior debt financing with participation from other backers that included Scotiabank.
1 min read · 25 September 2019
KNØX, a provider of a digital asset custody service for institutions and fiduciaries with comprehensive insurance coverage, has raised US$6.2 million in funding. Initialized and iNovia led the round with participation from Fidelity Investments Canada, FJ Labs and Ferst Capital. KNØX is based in Montreal.
1 min read · 24 September 2019
Toronto-based Wealthsimple, an online investing service and trading app, has acquired SimpleTax, a Canadian web-based tax preparation service. No financial terms were disclosed. Wealthsimple's backers include Allianz X, the investment arm of Allianz Group and Power Financial. SimpleTax was founded in 2012.
3 min read · 24 September 2019
San Francisco-based Fundbox, a B2B payments and credit network, has raised US$176 million in Series C funding. Also, the company has secured a US$150 million credit facility. Investors in the Series C round included Allianz X, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, HarbourVest, 9Yards Capital, Hamilton Lane, SEB Private Equity (on behalf of clients), Cathay Innovation, Synchrony, MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd., Recruit Strategic Partners, GMO Internet Group and Arbor Ventures. Other participants in the round were Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst and Spark Capital Growth.
1 min read · 24 September 2019
