Private Equity
Venture capital investment in Canadian startups continued at a very strong pace in Q1 2016 with a total of $869 million invested in 152 financings, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. Led by deal-making in information technology sectors, dollars invested in this period rose 61 percent from Q1 2015, reflecting the best quarterly result in the Canadian market in more than 14 years. Financing rounds, while down 4 percent year over year, nonetheless reflected the second-largest number for a first quarter since 2005. Fundraising in Canada’s venture capital industry also grew between January and March, accounting for $929 million, or 77 percent of total fund commitments during the whole of last year.
3 min read · 02 May 2016
Venture capital investment in Canadian startups continued at a very strong pace in Q1 2016 with a total of $869 million invested in 152 financings, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. Led by deal-making in information technology sectors, dollars invested in this period rose 61 percent from Q1 2015, reflecting the best quarterly result in the Canadian market in more than 14 years. Financing rounds, while down 4 percent year over year, nonetheless reflected the second-largest number for a first quarter since 2005. Fundraising in Canada’s venture capital industry also grew between January and March, accounting for $929 million, or 77 percent of total fund commitments during the whole of last year.
3 min read · 02 May 2016
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has committed US$10 million in venture debt financing to Exinda Inc. Based in Toronto, Exinda is a provider of network orchestration solutions for real-time business applications. Wellington said the company has shown "consistent growth both in revenue and profitability" since Wellington first invested in 2012. Founded in 2002, Exinda is backed by U.S. venture capital firms OpenView Venture Partners and Greenspring Associates. Along with its Toronto headquarters, the company has primary offices in Waterloo and Boston, Massachusetts. The Exinda deal comes on the heels of Wellington's investment in Acquisio Inc.
2 min read · 02 May 2016
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has committed US$10 million in venture debt financing to Exinda Inc. Based in Toronto, Exinda is a provider of network orchestration solutions for real-time business applications. Wellington said the company has shown "consistent growth both in revenue and profitability" since Wellington first invested in 2012. Founded in 2002, Exinda is backed by U.S. venture capital firms OpenView Venture Partners and Greenspring Associates. Along with its Toronto headquarters, the company has primary offices in Waterloo and Boston, Massachusetts. The Exinda deal comes on the heels of Wellington's investment in Acquisio Inc.
2 min read · 02 May 2016
Canadian investment and merchant banking firm Pinetree Capital has appointed Peter Tolnai as its new chief executive. Based in Toronto, Tolnai is a venture capital investment professional with nearly three decades of market experience. He is the founder and owner of Orchard Capital, and previously held senior executive positions at Clairvest Group and Helix Investments. Pinetree, which invests in energy, precious metals and technology companies, was for many years led by Sheldon Inwentash. Inwentash resigned as Chairman and CEO last year.
4 min read · 02 May 2016
Performance marketing software provider Acquisio Inc has secured undisclosed funding from Wellington Financial, a Canadian specialty finance firm. The investment was made by Wellington Financial Fund V, which raised $300 million last November. Headquartered in Brossard, Québec, Acquisio has developed technology that enables digital marketers to optimize the results of their search, social, mobile and display marketing programs. It said the partnership with Wellington will help the company scale and deliver more differentiated products. Founded in 2003, Acquisio is backed by Canadian venture capital firms Emerillon Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Tandem Expansion Fund.
3 min read · 29 April 2016
OMERS Ventures has made an undisclosed investment in Digital Currency Group (DCG), a New York-based builder, incubator and funder of bitcoin and blockchain technology-related companies. According to a Wall Street Journal report, OMERS Ventures was part of a financing round that included multiple other investors, including HCM International Co, Prudential Financial Inc, and Western Union Co. DCG was founded last year by CEO Barry Silbert. OMERS Ventures, an investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, said it is backing DCG because it addresses "a large and rapidly growing market" that is "set to disrupt global financial services."
2 min read · 28 April 2016
Canadian non-resource exports should post healthy gains this year, the country's trade financing agency said on Monday, a development the central bank is counting on to help revive an economy hobbled by weak global energy prices, Reuters reported. Export Development Canada predicted the consumer goods, automotive and aerospace sectors would post double-digit growth in 2016 on the back of a robust U.S. economy. Industrial machinery exports should advance by 7 percent, it said.
2 min read · 27 April 2016
Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) (TSX: SH) has unveiled Shopify Capital, a merchant cash advance product to help entrepreneurs secure growth financing. The product, which will be offered initially in the United States, tailors cash advances to a merchant's needs based on data processed through Shopify's platform. In a pilot program, merchants used Shopify Capital to buy equipment and inventory, launch new products, hire more employees, and add new channels and products, the company said. Ottawa-based Shopify, an e-commerce and retail software company, went public in May 2015.
3 min read · 27 April 2016
PrecisionHawk, a provider of aerial data and safety technology for drones, announced that DuPont has joined its previously-announced $22.7 million (US$18 million) Series C round. The deal's other investors included Innovate Indiana Fund, Intel Capital, Millennium Technology Value Partners, NTT Docomo Ventures, Verizon Ventures, a USAA affiliate and Yamaha Motor. PrecisionHawk, which is based in Raleigh, North Carolina and Toronto, has now raised US$30 million in total funding, the company reported.
3 min read · 27 April 2016
