Private Equity
Nutrien Ltd (TSX, NYSE: NTR), a Saskatoon-based crop inputs and services provider, has agreed to acquire Agrible Inc, a U.S. provider of predictive analytics tools that deliver field-specific data and forecasts to growers and other companies. Nutrien agreed to pay US$63 million for Agrible. The deal is expected to close this month. Nutrien, formed in January by the merger of Agrium Inc and Potash Corp, said the acquisition will provide it with digital capabilities that support the growth of its retail business. Founded in 2012, Agrible was backed by Archer Daniels Midland Co, Flyover Capital, Maumee Ventures, Serra Ventures and other investors.
4 min read · 18 July 2018
A Toronto-based startup has secured US$10 million ($13 million) in funding from venture capitalists to expand its operations in the temporary tattoo business, the company’s chief executive officer said this week. The startup, Inkbox, aims to give customers “the look and feel of a permanent tattoo without the permanence,” CEO and Co-Founder Tyler Handley told Reuters. The company, which was founded in 2015 and operates in Canada and Japan, ships approximately 60,000 tattoos per month to over 150 countries, with 75 percent of its sales going to the United States. The company received its latest equity investment from a group led by U.S. venture capital firm Maveron.
2 min read · 18 July 2018
Inkbox, a Toronto-based semi-permanent tattoo platform, has secured more than $17 million (US$13 million) in a Series A financing. The round was led by Maveron and joined by Founders Fund, Cassius, Golden Ventures, KDWC Capital, Flight Ventures and Novel TMT. Silicon Valley Bank also contributed US$3 million of venture debt. Founded in 2015 by CEO Tyler Handley and Braden Handley, Inkbox closed a $1 million seed financing in 2016. It has since grown 1,000 percent and sold 450,000 tattoos worldwide. Inkbox will use the Series A's proceeds to expand its artist marketplace, develop new tattoo technologies, strengthen its brand, and scale operations through strategic hires.
4 min read · 17 July 2018
Montréal-based 3D computer vision startup Airy3D has raised more than $13 million (US$10 million) in a Series A financing. Intel Capital led the round. It was joined by CRCM Ventures, Nautilus Venture Partners, R7 Partners, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, WI Harper Group and angel investors affiliated with TandemLaunch, the incubator that spun out Airy3D, all of which backed last year's seed financing. The funds raised will advance a licensing road-map for the 2019 commercial adoption of Airy3D's DepthIQTM platform with mobile original equipment manufacturers. Founded in 2015, Airy3D is led by CEO Dan Button.
4 min read · 17 July 2018
Vancouver-based clean technology company Inventys has secured an initial $14.5 million (US$11 million) for its Series C financing. The round was led by U.K.-based OGCI Climate Investments and joined by existing investors Roda Group and Chevron Technology Ventures. Inventys plans to raise additional funding for the Series C, increasing it to about $27.6 million (US$21 million). Inventys is developing a CO2 marketplace using next-generation carbon-capture technology at half the cost of conventional systems. The company will use the funds raised to back a CO₂ capture pilot plant demonstration program with Husky Energy Inc as well as its time-to-market strategy.
3 min read · 16 July 2018
Eventbase Technology Inc, a Vancouver-based event technology platform, has raised more than $8.5 million (US$6.5 million) in follow-on financing. The round, which brings the company's total funding to about $19 million (US$14.5 million), was backed by existing investor Madrona Venture Group and new investor BC Tech Fund, managed by Kensington Capital Partners. Founded in 2009 by CEO Jeff Sinclair and CPO Ben West, Eventbase provides mobile apps for conferences and other events organized by enterprises. It will use the funds raised to accelerate growth and launch its new event data product, Data Stream.
3 min read · 12 July 2018
Canada’s venture capital market showed no signs of slowing in Q2. The market’s top 10 second-quarter VC financings raised $562 million from investors. That’s on par with the $561 million drawn by the top 10 deals a year earlier. The estimate is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest rounds announced from April through June, supplemented by Thomson Reuters data. It suggests that VC investment activity this year is continuing to keep pace with the robust trend lines of 2016-2017. In fact, preliminary data point to growth in dollars flowing to technology sectors in the first half of 2018.
3 min read · 12 July 2018
Convene, a U.S. technology-enabled meeting, event and workspace provider, has raised US$152 million in a Series D financing, bringing its total funding to US$260 million. ArrowMark Partners led the round. It was joined by new investors, including QuadReal Property Group, the real estate affiliate of British Columbia Investment Management Corp, as well as existing investors, including Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield co-led New York-based Convene's US$68 million Series C financing, closed last year.
3 min read · 11 July 2018
Only 14 percent of all partners at Canadian venture capital firms are women, according to a report released by Highline BETA’s Female Funders and Hockeystick. This compares with 7 percent of partners at the top 100 U.S. venture capital firms. Women in Venture, produced in partnership with National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), also found that top Canadian funds run by teams without female partners accounted for 84 percent of capital committed. Lauren Robinson, executive director of Female Funders, said that while Canada is "leading the conversation" about women entrepreneurs "we also need to consider who’s on the other side of the table.”
4 min read · 11 July 2018
Canada’s Canopy Growth Corp is buying Toyko Smoke cannabis owner Hiku Brands Co Ltd for $269.2 million, the latest deal in a fast-consolidating sector ahead of legal recreational marijuana sales, Reuters reported. West Kelowna, British Columbia-based Hiku owns cannabis lifestyle brands such as Tokyo Smoke, DOJA and Van der Pop. The equity value of the deal is based on 140.95 million outstanding Hiku shares, according to Thomson Reuters. Before becoming part of Hiku in 2017, Tokyo Smoke was backed by Aphria Inc, Green Acre Capital, Globalive Capital and other investors.
2 min read · 11 July 2018
