Private Equity
Kensington Venture Fund has made an undisclosed investment in Real Matters Inc, a Markham, Ontario-based real estate technology platform. The investment adds to the $100 million private placement deal and equity issue announced by Real Matters in April, one of the largest financings raised by a private Canadian technology company in three years. Kensington Venture Fund, a venture fund of funds managed by Toronto-based investment firm Kensington Capital Partners, raised $306 million in a final close in March.
2 min read · 11 October 2016
Toronto-based specialty lender Health Smart Financial Services last month secured an undisclosed minority growth equity financing. The round was led by iA Financial Group. Founded in 2009, Health Smart operates a technology platform that allows healthcare providers to offer their customers monthly payments for services and products that require out-of-pocket expense. The company said it plans to use the funds raised to build merchant and customer relationships, further invest in its platform, and grow the balance sheet. Health Smart is led by President and CEO Wayne Pommen, formerly a principal at TorQuest Partners.
3 min read · 11 October 2016
Scientific Games Corp (NASDAQ: SGMS) has acquired Karma Gaming's portfolio of interactive games, including second-chance games and eInstant games. The undisclosed deal was closed in June. Las Vegas, Nevada-based Scientific Games, which also hired several Karma Gaming developers, said the purchase accelerates its interactive strategy and product roadmap. Karma Gaming, a Halifax-based provider of online and social games for regulated lotteries, was founded in 2012. It is backed by RHO Canada Ventures, Vanedge Capital, Innovacorp and other investors.
7 min read · 07 October 2016
Vancouver-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company MSI Methylation Sciences Inc has secured about $39.6 million (US$30 million) in funding. The investor was Quark Venture, a Canadian life sciences venture capital firm. MSI is developing an oral, small-molecule therapy for adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder. The funds raised from Quark will facilitate further product development in a phase 2 B trial. Founded in 2007, MSI is led by President Nancy Harrison, formerly a partner at Ventures West Management. The company is also backed by British venture capital firm Inventages Venture Capital.
4 min read · 07 October 2016
U.S. consumer health enterprise software company Welltok Inc has raised US$33.7 million in a Series E financing. The round saw participation from both new and existing investors, including Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners, which led the company's US$45 million follow-on round last December. Denver, Colorado-based Welltok said the latest funds raised will be used to continue development of its CaféWell health optimization platform plus complementary offerings, and to expand into new market segments. Georgian Partners raised US$375 million for its third fund in August.
3 min read · 06 October 2016
The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and BDC Capital have given the 2016 Canadian Angel of the Year award to Manny Padda. The award, presented at NACO's National Angel Summit, recognizes an individual investor who has made a significant contribution to the growth and development Canada's angel ecosystem. Padda is the founder and managing director of New Avenue Capital, a Vancouver-based firm focused on venture capital, recruitment, private lending and real estate, and social venture and philanthropy. He has led the organization since 2010.
3 min read · 06 October 2016
Montréal customer experience analytics specialist iPerceptions has bought the ad tech business of Datacratic, a machine learning and artificial-intelligence technology company also based in Montréal. No financial terms were released. iPerceptions said the acquisition strengthens its position in the machine learning and audience data space and increases the value of its offering to enterprise customers. iPerceptions is backed by Canadian investors Telesystem and XPND Capital, and has also secured funding from Wellington Financial, a Canadian specialty finance firm. Datacratic is backed by Canadian venture capital firms Real Ventures and BDC Venture Capital.
3 min read · 06 October 2016
Toronto-based financial technology company Financeit Canada Inc has raised a $22 million (US$17 million) equity financing. The round was led by new investors The Pritzker Organization and DNS Capital, as well as existing investors. The latter may include include Goldman Sachs, which led a minority equity investment in the company last year. Financeit, a cloud-based point-of-sale financing platform, said the latest funds raised was used in part to fund its previously-announced acquisition of TD Bank Group’s indirect home improvement financing assets. The money will also support the company's continued growth.
3 min read · 06 October 2016
Canadian merger and acquisition activity in the first nine months of the year touched their highest level since the financial crisis, buoyed by several big-ticket deals across a range of sectors, Reuters reported, citing data from Thomson Reuters. M&A deal value jumped 17 percent to US$209.7 billion in the period, up from US$178.9 billion from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. It was the best first nine months since 2007.
2 min read · 06 October 2016
Canada’s top 10 third-quarter venture financings attracted more than $329 million from investors, down 30 percent from the $470 million that went into the top 10 deals in the same quarter a year ago. The estimate is based on PE Hub Canada's list of the largest deals announced from July through September, and preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. The quarterly data suggest a possible slowing of momentum in Canada's venture market, compared with the robust activity reported in the year's first half.
3 min read · 06 October 2016
