Private Equity
AT&T, Dish Network Corp and WPP have agreed to acquire Invidi Technologies Corp, a Canadian-born addressable advertising solutions provider. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2017, will see Invidi operate independently under the companies’ collective ownership. AT&T will hold a controlling interest. Founded in 2000, Invidi has raised more than US$132 million in venture capital funding, according to Crunchbase, from such investors as EnerTech Capital, GroupM, InterWest Partners and Menlo Ventures. The Princeton, New Jersey-based company has its Canadian office in Edmonton.
6 min read · 22 November 2016
Canadian merchant banking venture firm Dane Creek Capital Corp (DCCC) has acquired a 30 percent stake in Your True Companion Pet Products Inc, a Guelph, Ontario-based provider of natural food products and treats for pets. No financial terms were disclosed. Companion Pet Products was founded in 2011 by Paul Spindler and family. The funds raised will be used to help the company expand its existing distribution in Canada and prepare for entry into the United States. The deal comes on the heels of DCCC's acquisition of a 48 percent interest in Midgard Insect Farm Inc.
4 min read · 22 November 2016
Alberta Enterprise Corp (AEC) has launched a second angel co-investment fund, Accelerate Fund II, with a commitment of $10 million. The fund will invest in early-stage Alberta companies in information technology, clean and energy technology, life sciences and agriculture sectors. It was also announced that Canadian growth equity firm Yaletown Partners will manage the fund. Yaletown will do this in partnership with A100, an Alberta association of technology founders and executives, which will act as operators of the fund's industry committee. AEC was recapped by the provincial goverment last year.
4 min read · 22 November 2016
Triphase Accelerator Corp, a portfolio company of MaRS Innovation, has agreed to sell assets relating to its first investigational compound, marizomib, to Celgene Corp. No financial terms were disclosed. Triphase, a Toronto cancer-focused biotechnology accelerator, was launched by MaRS Innovation in partnership with the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and MaRS Discovery District in January 2014. Celgene is a strategic partner. MaRS Innovation said the sale of marizomib, a novel brain-penetrant proteasome inhibitor used to treat glioblastoma, marks its first major portfolio exit.
4 min read · 21 November 2016
Information Venture Partners wrapped up its second VC fund at $106 million with the help of a fourth strategic investor as well as increased commitments from existing limited partners. Information Venture Partners II, which invests in fintech and enterprise-software companies in Canada and the United States, closed late last month, General Partners Robert Antoniades and David Unsworth told PE Hub Canada. The fund edged past its $100 million target thanks mostly to a commitment from Manulife Financial, a Canadian insurer and financial-services firm.
2 min read · 21 November 2016
Québec private equity and venture captial firm Fondaction CSN and Coop Carbon have unveiled Fonds Carbone, a carbon contract fund. The $20 million fund will finance 15 to 25 projects to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) in exchange for generated offset credits. Coop Carbone was launched in 2014 to leverage carbon market opportunities to reduce GHGs in Québec. The organization's founding members are Fondaction CSN, Desjardins Group, La Coop fédérée, the Association québécoise pour la maîtrise de l’énergie, and the Centre of Excellence in Energy Efficiency.
3 min read · 18 November 2016
Canadian venture capital firms Genesys Capital and BDC Capital have acquired additional common shares in Profound Medical Corp (TSX-V: PRN), a Toronto medical device company focused on treatments for prostate cancer. The investments were made as part of Profound's $17.4 million bought deal offering, announced earlier this week. Genesys invested via its latest fund, Genesys Ventures III, which raised $90 million in an initial close in August. It now owns about 21.4 percent of the company's total shares. BDC announced its investment in a separate release, taking a 24.3 percent interest.
2 min read · 18 November 2016
A report by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) found robust activity in Canada’s venture capital market in the first nine months of 2016 compared against slower deal-making in the private equity space. A total of $2.1 billion of VC has been invested to date, the CVCA found, just 9 percent shy of total activity in 2015. Trends were buoyed by $605 million invested in 111 financings in Q3 2013, which improves on the quarterly average since 2013. In contrast, there were 271 private equity deals valued at $9 billion as of September 30th, down 55 percent from a year ago. The third quarter saw 91 PE transactions valued at $3 billion, which is down in dollar terms from Q3 2015.
5 min read · 17 November 2016
Damiva Inc, a Toronto women’s health company, has closed a $1.2 million seed-stage financing. The investor was KES 7 Capital, a Canadian merchant bank. Founded in 2012 by CEO Chia Chia Sun and President Gardiner Smith, Damiva develops, manufactures and distributes products that address menopausal health issues for women over 40. Having launched in 2014 across most major pharmacy chains in Canada, the company now plans to use the proceeds of the seed round to support operations in advance of a U.S. launch.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Toronto diagnostic startup ChipCare Corp has so far secured $2.8 million for its planned $18.8 million Series B financing. ChipCare said it retained San Francisco's Biotech Alliances International as the lead investment banker for the fundraising. Founded in 2009, ChipCare leverages technology developed at the University of Toronto to deliver point-of-care diagnostics for HIV and other diseases to hard-to-reach populations. The funds raised will be used to bring its products to market. Last year, ChipCare raised a $5 million Series A financing led by Puffin Partners.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
