Private Equity
A new report from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) identifies six emerging trends that pose both challenges and opportunities to the owners of Canadian small businesses. In Future-Proof Your Business: Adapting to Demographic and Technology Trends, BDC highlights the results of a survey of 1,413 business leaders about the influence of workforce and technological changes. The survey found, for example, that while small businesses that have adopted digital technologies have seen major benefits to customer experience, revenue growth, cost efficiency and productivity, current levels of adoption remain "quite low" overall.
4 min read · 16 October 2017
Calgary biotechnology company Resverlogix Corp (TSX: RVX) has entered into a private placement deal with China's Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, an existing investor. The deal, which is expected to generate gross proceeds of $87 million, will result in Hepalink holding as much as 45.16 of the company's outstanding shares. Eastern Capital, an existing investor that is not joining the private placement, will see its interest reduced. Founded in 2001, Resverlogix develops treatments for cardiovascular disease and other conditions. It said the funds raised will be used to repay a $68.8 million secured loan, fund R&D, and support other priorities.
6 min read · 16 October 2017
Calligo has acquired 3 Peaks Inc, a Burlington, Ontario-based provider of cloud solutions, including e-mail, website hosting, backups and infrastructure-as-a-service. No financial terms were released. Founded in 1995, 3 Peaks has been led by President and CEO Ian Clark. Calligo, a U.K. cloud service provider to the mid-tier enterprise segment, said the deal will expand its presence in the North American market. Founded in 2011, Calligo last year raised US$20 million from U.S. investor Investcorp Technology Partners. It also secured funding from British venture capital firm Ti23.
3 min read · 13 October 2017
Canada’s top 10 venture-capital financings in the third quarter won $572 million from investors, up 45 percent from the $395 million that went into the top 10 deals a year earlier. The number is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest deals announced in Q3 2017, supplemented by preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. The list is headed by LeddarTech, which accounted for 2017’s fourth $100 million-plus round, Milestone, Absorb Software and Freshbooks. Third-quarter data, when combined with the results of Q1 2017 and Q2 2017, suggest Canadian VC investment activity this year is poised to match or exceed the robust levels of 2016.
3 min read · 12 October 2017
Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) has invested about $5.4 million in Metamaterial Technologies Inc (MTI), a Halifax-based smart materials and photonics company. Dr. George Palikaras, founder and CEO of MTI, said the funds raised will help advance the company's development and commercialization of a light-weight and high-efficiency silicon-based solar cell technology suitable for the transportation industry. The SDTC investment follows the close of MTI's $8.3 million Series A financing earlier this year. The round was led by Radar Capital and joined by Innovacorp and other investors.
4 min read · 12 October 2017
ROSS Intelligence, an artificial intelligence company focused on the legal industry, has raised US$8.7 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total funding to US$13 million. The round was led by iNovia Capital. Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Real Ventures, Dentons’ NextLaw Labs and others also invested. Founded in 2015 by CEO Andrew Arruda, CTO Jimoh Ovbiagele and Pargles Dall’Oglio at the University of Toronto, San Francisco-based ROSS develops AI technology to support legal research by answering questions and supplying relevant information. It recently launched ROSS North, its AI R&D headquarters in Toronto.
5 min read · 11 October 2017
Brookfield Property Partners LP, one of the largest commercial real estate companies, said this week it has invested in Honest Buildings, a New York project management startup that compiles data for property owners to make construction projects more efficient, Reuters reported. Brookfield led a group that raised US$13 million for Honest Buildings in the hopes its platform can establish an industry-leading standard for large property owners that need greater clarity into construction projects. Greensoil Building Innovation Fund was among the other investors in the company's Series B financing. Honest Buildings' first move abroad will be Canada and then other countries alongside Brookfield, Founder and CEO Riggs Kubiak said.
2 min read · 11 October 2017
Halifax innovation hub Volta Labs has partnered with BDC Capital and Innovacorp to launch Volta Cohort, a program to help early-stage company founders in Atlantic Canada secure venture capital sooner. The program will feature a micro-fund that supplies investments of $25,000 to up to five companies selected in a pitch event hosted biannually by Volta Labs. Venture-backed startups will be given space at Volta Labs and access to mentoring and other resources. BDC Capital's Michelle Scarborough said the program will help local first-time founders "turn their startup ideas into actual revenue-generating businesses."
4 min read · 11 October 2017
HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd (TSX-V: HIVE) has secured $7 million in a private placement deal with Genesis Mining Ltd, an existing strategic investor. The round was closed concurrently with a $30 million bought deal financing. HIVE, a Vancouver-based developer of blockchain infrastructure, said it used some of the funds raised to acquire a second data centre in Reykjanes, Iceland. The company acquired the asset from Genesis, a cryptocurrency mining business, for $5 million, the issuance of 2 million common shares, and fees. Founded in 2012, HIVE describes its goal as "building a bridge from the blockchain sector to traditional capital markets."
4 min read · 11 October 2017
Accelerate Fund II, an Alberta early-stage angel co-investment fund, has invested an undisclosed amount in Visio Media Inc, an Edmonton digital out-of-home advertising network. Founded in 2011, Visio uses software called Elev8 in the elevators of high-rise commercial and residential properties to help advertisers reach their target audiences. Its network currently broadcasts to 200 elevators in Edmonton and Vancouver high-rises. Visio, which is led by CEO Fouad El-Masri, will use the funds raised to expand into other Canadian urban centres. Accelerate Fund II is managed by Canadian growth equity firm Yaletown Partners.
3 min read · 10 October 2017
