Private Equity
The value of announced mergers and acquisitions worldwide fell 27 percent year-on-year to US$753 billion in the third quarter of 2016, as apprehension among corporate executives about overpaying prevented a repeat of last year's deal-making frenzy, Reuters reported. The preliminary Thomson Reuters M&A data shows the euphoria that drove merger mania in 2015 has subsided. While M&A activity remains robust, deal-makers said companies are being more selective in their decisions to do deals.
4 min read · 30 September 2016
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has endowed a University of Toronto scholarship in honour of Joseph Rotman. The firm and the Rotman School of Management established the "Wellington Financial LP Award in Technology Evaluation & Analysis" to help students gain "a better understanding about how to analyze innovation companies" and encourage careers in venture capital, Wellington President and CEO Mark McQueen said. Rotman, who passed away last year, founded Clairvest Group and played a role in launching Wellington.
3 min read · 29 September 2016
A report by Alberta Enterprise Corp (AEC) said Alberta's innovation sector has grown significantly of late. The 2016 Deal Flow Study found that technology companies based in Alberta, which currently total 1,373, grew 48 percent over the past four years. It also found that one in five technology companies have more than $1 million in annual revenue, while one-third of the total have raised financing from venture capital firms and other investors. AEC said the improved conditions are due to an increasingly mature technology market in Alberta.
3 min read · 28 September 2016
The National Arts Centre has launched a $25 million fundraising campaign to provide a source of venture capital to artists and art organization in Canada. Winnipeg businesswoman and philanthropist Gail Asper committed $5 million to the campaign, bringing the amount raised so far to $23 million. Details of the new funding model will be released in the coming months, however, the NAC said it will begin investing in the creation of new works of music, dance and theatre by 2017. Based in Ottawa, the NAC is a centre for the performing arts.
3 min read · 28 September 2016
The Canadian government said its Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) has so far benefited a total of 126 Canadian innovative companies. VCAP, launched three years ago to encourage private sector participation in the domestic venture capital industry, raised nearly $1.4 billion for four market-based funds of funds. Investment activity leveraged by the program to date totals $453 million. Ottawa said more investments are expected in the coming years. VCAP is managed by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
4 min read · 28 September 2016
The Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) has named Wattpad "CIX 2016 Innovator of the Year." Based in Toronto, Wattpad is a social marketplace that creates connections between readers and writers. It received the award for its "transforming" contribution to the entertainment industry, CIX said. Wattpad's co-founder and CEO Allen Lau will accept the award on behalf of the company at CIX on November 22nd. Venture-backed since 2011, Wattpad's raised $46 million in a Series C financing led by OMERS Ventures in April 2014.
3 min read · 27 September 2016
Evok Innovations, launched in January to invest a $100 million clean technology fund, has closed its first round of investments. The firm invested in five companies and technology platforms: Mosaic Materials, Metabolik Technologies, DarkVision Technologies, Rotoliptic Technologies, and the Institute for Breakthrough Energy Technology. The financing of DarkVision, a Canadian developer of ultrasound-based imaging technology, was announced separately last week. Vancouver's Evok, led by CEO Marty Reed, is a partnership between BC Cleantech CEO Alliance, Cenovus Energy Inc and Suncor Energy Inc.
6 min read · 27 September 2016
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ, CTI Life Sciences Fund and the Canadian affiliate of French pharmaceutical company Servier have invested $21 million to help launch a new biotechnology startup, Ilkos Therapeutics. Based in Laval, Québec, Ilkos will focus on the clinical development of an oral treatment for venous lower limb ulcers. Servier granted an exclusive licence to the company to pursue the project and will oversee it through Servier Canada's Centre of Excellence in Clinical Research. Ilkos' board will be chaired by Canadian healthcare executive Mark Beaudet. The Fonds' Danny Gagné, CTI's Jean-François Leprince, and Servier's Frédéric Fasano will take seats on the board.
5 min read · 26 September 2016
Québec City-based Greatify, a specialist in managing customer service teams, has raised $1 million in financing. Twenty-one members of angel network Anges Québec invested in the round alongside of Anges Québec Capital Fund. Founded in 2015 by CEO Thierry Poitras and CXO Daniel Lafrenière, Greatify provides digital solutions to businesses encountering employee engagement difficulties frequently associated with high staff turnover. It said the funds raised would be used to put its technology into the hands of clients, and to develop and implement strategies for entering new markets.
2 min read · 26 September 2016
Toronto-based biotechnology startup Cyclica Inc has secured $2.4 million in a Series A1 financing. The round was led by Canadian boutique finance advisory firm GreenSky Capital via the GreenSky Accelerator Fund I LP. It was joined by new and existing investors, including China Canada Angel Alliance and the family of Anthony Griffiths. Founded in 2013, Cyclica is an in silico drug discovery company that offers a predictive analytics platform that helps develop better and safer drugs. It plans to use the funds raised to scale up its sales and marketing efforts and pursue continued product development.
3 min read · 26 September 2016
