Private Equity
Website creation platform PageCloud Inc has closed a Series A financing, bringing total funds raised to $11.5 million. Key investors include Accomplice, Export Development Canada, MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, and several angel investors associated with SalesForce.com, LinkedIn and Shopify. Founded in 2014 by CEO Craig Fitzpatrick, Ottawa's PageCloud has developed technology that simplifies the process of creating and editing websites. Since launching the platform last year, PageCloud has acquired more than 15,000 customers in over 130 countries. It will use the funds raised to scale its team and further develop its product.
3 min read · 17 November 2016
Dane Creek Capital Corp (DCCC), a Canadian merchant banking venture firm, has acquired a 48 percent interest in Midgard Insect Farm Inc, a Halifax producer of insect-based powder that can be used in a variety of industries. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in February by President Joy Hillier, Midgard focuses on the production of cricket meal for the pet food industry. An immediate result of the company's partnership with DCCC will be establishment of a research facility in association with Perennia. Toronto-based DCCC was launched last month by Mark Warren and Glen Tennison to invest in pet-related startups across North America.
5 min read · 17 November 2016
Procurify, a Vancouver cloud and mobile procure-to-pay software company, has raised $7 million in a Series A financing. U.S. venture capital firm Runa Capital led the round. It was joined by Point Nine Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which contributed to the company's seed financing last year. Founded in 2012, Procurify provides spend management software that helps enterprises to make more informed decisions about expenditure. It plans to use the funds raised to "scale aggressively", in part through new hires. With the Series A, Procurify announced its hire of Angela Baldonero as COO.
2 min read · 17 November 2016
Canadian growth equity firm Yaletown Partners said it was "rewarded" by this week's sale of Bit Stew Systems Inc to GE Digital. The deal's terms were not disclosed; however, the Globe and Mail reported the value at US$153 million. Yaletown was the first and largest investor in Bit Stew, a Vancouver data integration platform for the industrial internet. Yaletown led the company's Series A round in late 2013 and participated in every financing thereafter. Bit Stew's board was chaired by Yaletown General Partner Salil Munjal. Earlier this year, Yaletown launched its latest fund, Yaletown Emerging Growth Fund, which is targeted to raise $135 million.
3 min read · 16 November 2016
General Electric said it has acquired two technology startups to build its artificial intelligence capability, a move that helps it compete with IBM's Watson product, Reuters reported. GE said the acquisitions of Vancouver, British Columbia's Bit Stew Systems and Berkley, California's Wise.io will expand its Predix platform for industrial internet applications, which connects big machines such as power plants and aircraft engines to databases and analytical software. Terms of the deals weren't disclosed.
2 min read · 15 November 2016
TandemLaunch has raised $15 million in the close of its third seed fund. TandemLaunch Ventures II hit maximum capitalization thanks to additional commitments from BDC Capital, as well as new commitments from investors in China, Singapore, the United Kingdom and United States. In all, 44 limited partners invested. They included Guy Laliberté's Lune Rouge Innovation, Speed of Trust Ventures, YUL Ventures, Nathalie Marcoux and Jean-Francois Grenon. Montréal's TandemLaunch will use the funds raised to build another dozen synthetic startups that respond to innovative trends. PE Hub Canada interviewed TandemLaunch's founder, Helge Seetzen, in June.
3 min read · 15 November 2016
Bit Stew Systems Inc, a Vancouver data integration platform for the industrial internet, has been acquired by GE Digital. Terms were not disclosed; however, the Globe and Mail reported the deal's value at US$153 million. GE was previously a strategic investor in Bit Stew, leading its US$17.2 million Series B financing in May 2015. The company's data intelligence capabilities will be combined with Predix, GE’s operating system for the industrial internet, and will help GE advance its product offerings. Led by CEO Kevin Collins, Bit Stew first raised funding in a Yaletown Partners-led Series A round in late 2013. Its other investors included BDC Capital, Cisco Systems and Kensington Capital Partners.
3 min read · 15 November 2016
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, a Canadian firm headed by high-profile investor Prem Watsa, said it planned to significantly reduce its defensive equity hedges due to Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential election, Reuters reported. "We believe the U.S. election may result in fundamental changes that may bolster economic growth and business development," Watsa, Fairfax's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. The firm said it had cut its equity hedging to 50 percent of its total equity holdings from 113 percent at the end of September.
2 min read · 11 November 2016
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Canada's biggest public pension plan, said it ended the second quarter of its fiscal year with $300.5 billion in assets, up from $287.3 billion three months earlier, Reuters reported. CPPIB, which manages Canada's national pension fund and invests on behalf of 19 million Canadians, said it delivered gross investment returns of 4.83 percent in the second quarter, or 4.75 percent net of all costs. That compared with returns of 1.5 percent in the previous quarter.
1 min read · 10 November 2016
San Francisco-based cybersecurity company RiskIQ Inc has secured US$30.5 million in a Series C financing. The round was led by Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners and joined by existing investors Summit Partners, Battery Ventures and MassMutual Ventures. With the deal, Steve Leightell, a principal at Georgian, will join the company's board. RiskIQ provides a risk management platform that helps enterprises protect their digital assets, users, and customers from external security threats. It plans to use the funds raised to expand its ecosystem, global sales, and platform applications.
4 min read · 10 November 2016
