Private Equity
Software Platform Partners Corp, a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has filed with domestic regulators for an initial public offering of $90 million Class A restricted voting units. The proceeds will be used to make one or more acquisitions that result in the creation of an enterprise software platform. The SPAC is sponsored by SPP Management LP, the principals of which are Daniel Klass, founder of Klass Capital, and Jill Denham, a former CIBC executive. Klass, Denham and Power Corp's Sagard Holdings ULC will buy about $41 million of Class B and forward purchase units to align the interests of founders with other investors.
6 min read · 04 July 2017
Vanderlande Industries BV has acquired Optosecurity, a Québec City-based software company that provides a remote screening solution used in the checkpoint security sector. No financial terms were released. Vanderlande, a Dutch company with a Canadian headquarters in Richmond, British Columbia, said Optosecurity's solution when combined with its own will create a "leading integrator of passenger screening processes at airports." Founded in 2004, Optosecurity secured funding from several investors, including Anges Québec, BDC Capital, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins and Fondaction CSN.
4 min read · 04 July 2017
Mirexus Biotechnologies Inc, a Guelph, Ontario biomaterials provider, has raised $12 million in funding. The round was led by the Canadian affiliate of Barbados' Goddard Enterprises Ltd (GEL) and joined by angel members of GreenSky President’s Club, all existing backers of the company. Founded in 2008, Mirexus is commercializing a novel nanotechnology that can be used in markets ranging from cosmetics to nutraceuticals to biomedical applications in animal and human health. Led by President and CEO Phil Whiting, the company will use the funds raised to develop a factory and support operations over the next three years.
4 min read · 04 July 2017
Waterloo sourcing enablement software provider Bonfire has raised $11 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Battery Ventures with participation from existing investors, including Crosslink Capital and Spider Capital. With the round, Battery General Partner Michael Brown will join the board. Founded in 2012, Bonfire has created online technology that helps organizations automate procurement decisions, such as requests for proposals, bids, tenders and reverse auctions. Led by CEO Corry Flatt, the company will use the funds raised to expand sales and marketing teams and develop its product in such areas as predictive analytics.
4 min read · 30 June 2017
U.S. enterprise software vendor management platform VendorHawk Inc has raised a US$1.2 million seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian early-stage venture capital firm iNovia Capital. It was joined by Techstars Ventures, Social Starts, Telos Ventures, Curious Capital and Alliance of Angels, as well as several angel investors. Founded in 2015, VendorHawk's platform helps organizations manage and optimize their software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. The Seattle, Washington startup recently completed the Techstars Seattle 2017 class.
3 min read · 29 June 2017
Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) has named Real Matters Inc its 2017 "Innovator of the Year". Founded in 2004, Toronto's Real Matters operates a proprietary technology platform that provides network management services to the mortgage lending and insurance industries. The company's backers have included Kensington Venture Fund, Radar Capital, Wellington Financial and Whitecap Venture Partners. In May, Real Matters closed its initial public offering, raising about $156.7 million. President and CEO Jason Smith will accept the award as the opening keynote speaker at CIX in October.
3 min read · 29 June 2017
500 Startups Canada has invested in the seed-stage financing of Fluent.ai Inc, a Montréal-based artificial intelligence startup focused on developing speech recognition technology. The round, announced in May, was increased to $2 million as a result. Its other investors include BDC Capital, Danhua Capital, Creative Destruction Lab and Maple Leaf Angels. Fluent.ai also announced that British AI entrepreneur William Tunstall-Pedoe has joined its advisory board. Tunstall-Pedoe founded Evi Technologies, acquired by Amazon in 2012. He also contributed to Fluent.ai's seed round.
3 min read · 28 June 2017
Canadian educational publisher Nelson Education Ltd has agreed to acquire the technology assets of Edusight Inc, a Toronto developer of an analytics and digital portfolio product used as a resource in educational settings. No financial terms were released. Nelson said the strategic deal represents its first purely digital acquisition and will help build its ecosystem of learning content and tools. Founded in 2013 by President Garros Li, CEO Vikram Somasundaram and CTO Qiming Weng, Edusight was funded by Y Combinator's Imagine K12.
3 min read · 28 June 2017
Flashstock Technologies Inc, a Toronto developer of custom visual content for marketers, has agreed to be acquired by Shutterstock Inc (NYSE: SSTK). The deal, expected to close next month, will see Shutterstock pay about $66 million (US$50 million) in cash for the company. Shutterstock, a U.S. online marketplace for digital images, videos and music, said the deal will help it offer a high-quality custom content product to its 1.7 million customers. Founded in 2013 and led by CEO Grant Munro, Flashstock raised most of its funding from angel investors, many of them senior business executives.
3 min read · 28 June 2017
Glooko, a U.S. diabetes data management platform, has secured US$35 million in a Series C financing. The round was led by Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners and joined by new and existing investors, including Canaan Partners, Medtronic and Social Capital. Founded in 2010, Glooko is a developer of remote patient monitoring technology. It currently helps more than one million patients served by 6,000 providers in 27 countries. The Mountain View, California-based company plans to use the funds raised to expand market access and deepen its expertise in data analytics.
3 min read · 27 June 2017
