Private Equity
Montréal-based legacy management platform Fresche Legacy has acquired Quadrant LLC, a U.S. provider of application modernization, mobile development, business intelligence and document distribution solutions and services. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was backed by Fondaction CSN, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Bank of Montreal. Fresche said the deal positions it as a leading provider of value and solutions for IBM i customers. The company's buy of Quadrant follows earlier acquisitions, including looksoftware (2014) and Databorough (2013). Fonds de solidarité FTQ announced in late 2015 that it had invested $7.8 million in Fresche.
5 min read · 09 June 2016
Royal Bank of Canada wants to team up with Silicon Valley's brightest talent to position itself at the forefront of new financial technologies, Vice President of Innovation Gabriel Woo said in an interview with Reuters. The bank, Canada's biggest lender, has launched an "innovation lab" in Silicon Valley, where it will identify and work with local "fintech" startups, Woo said. Fintech ventures, usually startups, develop technology ranging from loan, insurance and payment services to cloud data storage on smartphones. According to KPMG, global investment in fintech companies totaled US$19.1 billion last year.
2 min read · 09 June 2016
Canadian software company Embotics Corp has secured $12.1 million in growth funding from Arrowroot Capital, a U.S. growth equity firm. Founded in 2006, Ottawa-based Embotics offers a multi-cloud management platform for enterprise information technology and managed service providers that allows them to automate and control their virtualized and cloud environments. It plans to use the funds raised to drive expansion through increased investment in sales and marketing initiatives as well as product development. Embotics has previously raised financing from Canadian investors, including Covington Funds and VentureLink.
3 min read · 09 June 2016
Canadian software company Embotics Corp has secured $12.1 million in growth funding from Arrowroot Capital, a U.S. growth equity firm. Founded in 2006, Ottawa-based Embotics offers a multi-cloud management platform for enterprise information technology and managed service providers that allows them to automate and control their virtualized and cloud environments. It plans to use the funds raised to drive expansion through increased investment in sales and marketing initiatives as well as product development. Embotics has previously raised financing from Canadian investors, including Covington Funds and VentureLink.
3 min read · 09 June 2016
Vancouver-based biotechnology startup ImStar Therapeutics Inc has obtained $1.8 million in seed-stage financing. Canadian health sciences accelerator Accel-Rx and venture capital firm BDC Capital led the round with investments of $500,000 each. The rest was accounted for by AviTx Inc and other private investors. Founded in 2012, ImStar is a developer of treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders. The company's technology is based on the research of Dr. Jean Pierre Julien of Université Laval. ImStar said the funds raised will be used to advance pre-clinical work for its lead therapeutic program.
5 min read · 08 June 2016
Vancouver-based Social Nature, a marketing platform for progressive brands, has raised $1 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was backed by Shopify Co-Founder Scott Lake, the Pereira-Wharton family, Conconi Growth Partners, Highline VC, BDC Capital and several other investors. Founded in 2014 by CEO Annalea Krebs, Social Nature provides a social sampling community that promotes quality natural product brands. More than 100,000 people have joined the community to date, Social Nature said. The proceeds of the seed funding will be used to support the startup's continued growth across North America.
2 min read · 08 June 2016
Ilse Treurnicht, CEO of Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District, will step down at the next annual general meeting in June 2017. Treurnicht, who headed Toronto-based MaRS for almost twelve years, said the organization is entering a next phase of growth and that it is the right time "for a new leader to take the helm.” MaRS' board has appointed a special committee to direct a search process for a new CEO. Treurnicht joined MaRS in 2005 after serving for over six years as CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm.
3 min read · 08 June 2016
Montréal-based carpooling app Netlift has closed the first tranche of a $1.3 million seed-stage financing. The tranche was backed by Cycle Capital, Sustainable Development Technology Canada and several angel investors. They join existing investor BDC Capital, which earlier provided convertible notes funding. Established in 2012, Netlift is developing a mobile app that supports more efficient commuting, along with a payment system and communication option for users. It plans to use the funds raised to further develop the app, target new addressable markets, and prepare to enter the Ontario market before the end of 2017.
3 min read · 07 June 2016
Canadian clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Vitaeris Inc has secured about $9 million (US$7 million) in seed-stage financing. The backers of the round included the company's founding investor HBM Healthcare Investments AG, a Swiss healthcare venture capital firm. Founded earlier this year, Vancouver-based Vitaeris said the funds raised will allow it to initiate operations and advance its monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidate, clazakizumab, into clinical studies. Discovered by and licensed from Alder Biopharmaceuticals Inc, the therapeutic is intended to treat chronic inflammatory diseases.
4 min read · 06 June 2016
The Ontario government has appointed Alan Hibben to the board of trustees of OPTrust, which invests and manages $18.4 billion of assets on behalf of OPSEU Pension Plan. Hibben has over more than three decades served in a number of senior executive roles in the financial industry. They include his role as head of RBC Capital Partners, the private equity and venture capital investment arm of the Royal Bank of Canada. Hibben was the group's CEO between 2000 and 2009.
2 min read · 06 June 2016
