Private Equity
BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), authorized $253.1 million in venture capital investments in fiscal 2016. That's up 36 percent from the $185.4 million authorized the year before. BDC Capital also reported $259.1 million in growth and transition financing going to clients in fiscal 2016, which is up 12 percent. The group contributed to the bank's overall financial results with $121.1 million in net income, which is also higher year over year. BDC Capital's Jérôme Nycz recently wrote a feature article for PE Hub Canada about increasing risk capital for high-growth Canadian technology companies.
4 min read · 24 August 2016
Canadian content marketing software provider ScribbleLive has acquired Linkdex, a British enterprise search engine optimization (SEO) platform, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition, which follows ScribbleLive's buy of Visually in January, will help marketers manage a complete life-cycle of their content and expand ScribbleLive's global presence, the company said. Founded in 2008, Toronto-based ScribbleLive has raised more than $60 million in funding, including its $38 million Series D round led by OpenText Enterprise Apps Fund last year. Linkdex was backed by U.K. technology investment firm Amadeus Capital Partners and other investors.
4 min read · 23 August 2016
Orlando, Florida-based technology repair specialist uBreakiFix has launched a partnership to more than double its presence in Canada. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, will see UBIFNorth, a franchisee of uBreakiFix, open 22 store locations in Alberta, Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The roll-out began in Toronto in January and will continue over a two-year period. Founded in 2009, uBreakiFix provides same-day repair services for a range of electronics. UBIFNorth is majority-owned by G3 Capital Corp, a Canadian hedge fund, venture capital and private equity investor.
4 min read · 23 August 2016
Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures has raised $20 million for its second fund, earmarked for investments in early-stage financial technology companies. Anchor investors in Fund II include FairVentures, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, as well as several family offices. Toronto-based Impression, founded in 2013 by Managing Partner Christian Lassonde, said the new fund will build on the record of Fund I, which backed online investment advisor Wealthsimple, receipt solutions provider Sensibill, and parking payments specialist HonkMobile. Impression said it will partner with FairVentures in insurance-related deal opportunities.
2 min read · 22 August 2016
PerfectlySoft Inc has closed its seed-stage financing at $1.5 million with the help of Canadian angel organization York Angel Investors. The investment added to the $1.2 million round led by Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures earlier this year. Founded in late 2015, Newmarket, Ontario-based PerfectlySoft is the creator of Perfect, a server-side Swift development framework that helps full-stack mobile developers streamline their projects. The company said it will use the funds raised to advance and scale its product in anticipation of Apple's release of Swift 3.0 later this year.
3 min read · 22 August 2016
Toronto-based Ecobee Inc, provider of a Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostat, has closed a $35 million follow-on financing. The Amazon Alexa Fund, Thomvest and Relay Ventures invested in the round. Founded in 2007, Ecobee has created thermostat technology that works with room sensors to adjust temperatures and deliver greater home comfort and energy savings. The company said it has experienced more than 100 percent year-over-year growth over time. Ecobee plans to use the funds raised to further develop its product. Last year, Ecobee received a strategic investment from Carrier Corp, a U.S. heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems provider.
4 min read · 18 August 2016
Mark Organ, founder and CEO of advocate marketing software provider Influitive, was today the debut speaker in a new speaker series organized by Venture for Canada and presented by BDC Capital. The BDC Canadian Scale-Up Speaker Series was hosted at Influitive's Toronto headquarters. Organ founded Influitive in 2010. Since then it has raised $50 million in venture capital, including the $38 million raised in a Series B financing in March. Organ, a serial entrepreneur, previously led Eloqua, which was acquired by Oracle Corp in 2012.
3 min read · 18 August 2016
Canadian e-commerce and retail software company Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) (TSX: SH) has launched an offering of Class A subordinate voting shares. Priced at about US$286.9 million in total, the offering includes shares to be sold by U.S. venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and members of Shopify’s management team. The offering is expected to close on or about August 22nd. Bessemer is among a group of Canadian and U.S. investors that financed Ottawa-based Shopify prior to the company's initial public offering in May 2015.
5 min read · 18 August 2016
Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics Inc (TSX: GUD) has committed $1 million to Genesys Ventures III, the third life sciences fund of Canadian venture capital firm Genesys Capital. Montréal-based Knight said the investment, made as part of a $130 million strategy, is its eighth in a life sciences fund. PE Hub Canada reported this week that Genesys raised $90 million in the initial close of Fund III, which is targeted to raise $125 million in total. Other disclosed fund investors include the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and HarbourVest Canada Growth Fund.
3 min read · 18 August 2016
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has expanded into the healthcare and life sciences vertical with its hire of Jeff Chapman. Chapman, an experienced life sciences investment professional who most recently served as a senior executive at Comerica Bank, assumed the role of partner and head of healthcare and life sciences at Wellington. He will operate from the firm's Menlo Park office. Toronto-based Wellington closed its fifth innovation private debt fund at $300 million in 2015. It has since committed over $100 million to 11 venture-backed companies in Canada and the United States.
4 min read · 18 August 2016
