Private Equity
Montréal online healthcare appointment booking solution Chronometriq Inc has raised $3.5 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Bridgescale Partners. Founded in 2012, Chronometriq has developed technology that helps manage queues at healthcare clinics and improve access for patients. It reports its products were used by more than 1.2 million users in Québec and Ontario last year. Led by President and CEO Yan Raymond-Lalande, the company plans to use the funds raised to expand its product line and reach in Canadian and U.S. healthcare clinic markets.
2 min read · 11 July 2017
Canadian clean energy technology company Inventys has secured $10 million in the first tranche of a round B-11 financing. Strategic investor Husky Energy Inc led the round and was joined by the company's existing backers, Roda Group and Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital. Based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Inventys is the developer of the VeloxoTherm system, a carbon dioxide (CO2) capture process. The funds raised will support a CO2-capture pilot plant aimed at producing a low-cost supply solution for Husky's enhanced oil recovery program near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. Founded in 2007, Inventys is led by President and CEO Claude Letourneau.
3 min read · 11 July 2017
Montréal motion detection startup Aerial Technologies Inc has raised $2.25 million in a convertible note financing. The round was led by Fonds Innovexport and entrepreneur and investor Jean-François Grenon. They were joined by strategic investors Kibo Ventures, Wayra and Quebecor Group, as well as angel investors affiliated with TandemLaunch. TandemLaunch incubated Aerial and also invested. Founded in 2015, Aerial is a software company that uses Wi-Fi signals and artificial intelligence to detect presence and motion. Led by CEO David Grant, it is focused on commercializing its technology with partners in the telecommunications industry.
5 min read · 11 July 2017
Montréal clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc has filed for an initial public offering in the United States, Reuters recently reported. The company is seeking as much as $150 million (US$115 million) from an offering of common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market. Founded in 2010, Clementia is developing treatments for patients suffering from debilitating bone and other diseases. It has raised north of US$90 million from venture capital investors, including BDC Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, OrbiMed Advisors and New Enterprise Associates.
1 min read · 07 July 2017
Laval, Québec biopharmaceutical company Prometic Life Sciences Inc (TSX: PLI) has raised $61.7 million in gross proceeds from two equity offerings. In the first, a bought deal equity offering, Prometic secured $53.1 million. In the second, a private placement, it obtained $8.6 million from a vehicle affiliated with Thomvest Asset Management, the investment firm of Peter Thomson. The latter deal's proceeds were used to reduce amounts owed on a Thomvest loan. Prometic is focused on developing therapeutics from its plasma-derived and small-molecule platforms.
3 min read · 06 July 2017
Ottawa has launched its Strategic Innovation Fund, a program intended to attract and support innovative business investments across all sectors of the Canadian economy. The fund, capitalized at $1.26 billion, will back a range of activities, including R&D and commercialization of new products and services, growth and scale-up of companies, attraction of non-resident investments to Canada, and public-private collaborations in developing and demonstrating new technologies.
2 min read · 05 July 2017
Fonds de solidarité FTQ generated nearly $1.1 billion in profits in the fiscal year ending on May 31, marking the first time in its history the firm exceeded the $1 billion level. The Fonds also reported an annual shareholder return of 9.1 percent in this period, which contributed to an increase in net assets under management to $13.1 billion. The Fonds, which provides development capital to mostly private companies located in Québec, also reported investing $873 million in the past year. The Montréal-based investor is led by President and CEO Gaétan Morin.
4 min read · 05 July 2017
Canada’s top 10 venture-capital financings in the second quarter drew $518 million from investors, up 8 percent from the $480 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 from April through June, supplemented by preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. It suggests Canadian VC investment activity this year is so far keeping pace with the robust trend lines of 2016. At the end of June, VC funds invested $1.75 billion in Canada, preliminary data show, not far behind the $1.78 billion invested in the first half of last year.
3 min read · 05 July 2017
Power Survey and Equipment Ltd, a Montréal-based developer of power quality systems, has acquired Power Standards Lab Inc, a U.S. maker of electric power instruments for monitoring power quality and energy, and performing data analysis. No financial terms were disclosed. Power Survey said the deal will provide a unified set of tools for solving power quality disturbances for global commercial and industrial customers, utilities and government agencies. Led by President and CEO Mario Barbaresso, Power Survey last year raised $10 million in a financing led by EnerTech Capital. The company said it recently secured an additional US$24 million.
3 min read · 05 July 2017
Canada’s initial public offering (IPO) market continued to show signs of recovery in the second quarter of 2017, with six new TSX issues generating more than $2.3 billion in proceeds, according to a survey by PwC. Private equity- and venture-backed IPOs, including those of Real Matters Inc, Source Energy Services Ltd and STEP Energy Services Inc, contributed to the result. PwC said activity at the end of June, reflected in 16 IPOs accounting for $2.9 billion, marked the best first half in the past five years. Dean Braunsteiner, PwC's national IPO services leader, said demand for new issues has not yet been matched by supply.
4 min read · 04 July 2017
