Private Equity
Los Angeles-based digital government product company Civic Resource Group (CRG) has acquired Globalive XMG Inc (GXMG), a Toronto-based developer of software-related augmented reality applications. No financial terms were released. The purchase of GXMG, which was seeded in July 2015 by Canadian venture capital firm Gibraltar Ventures, was announced along with CRG's US$3.5 million financing. ABVEN and Globalive Capital co-led the round with participation from other investors, including Canada's Gibraltar & Co, Relay Ventures, Front Street Capital and Extreme Venture Partners. CRG said the GXMG deal and funding will position the company to expand in the smart city market.
4 min read · 17 February 2016
BDC Capital has launched its second information technology venture fund, IT Venture Fund II, sized at $150 million. The fund, which brings capital managed by the BDC Capital IT Venture Fund group to $300 million, will be focused on Series A and B financings of mature startups that "have a product in market and are already generating revenues from customers,” Managing Partner Robert Simon said. The fund will thereby help address a mid-stage financing gap now facing Canadian software companies, Simon said. Fund II, which will continue to lead most of its deals and leverage syndicate partners, has already made 11 investments. They include online retailer Cymax, which raised US$25 million last October.
3 min read · 17 February 2016
Canadian private equity firm ARC Financial has released a report that aims to provide investors with tools for evaluating the impacts of more stringent climate change policies. ARC said the report, Crude Oil Investing in a Carbon Constrained World, fills an information gap by helping crude oil investors to quantify the potential extra costs and risks of evolving greenhouse gas policies. ARC's methodology, which was reviewed by experts in the field, draws upon publicly available research and academic models to estimate the greenhouse gas intensity for each stage of petroleum fuel production.
3 min read · 16 February 2016
Intact Financial Corp has made a strategic investment in Metromile Inc, a car insurance technology company based in San Francisco. No financial terms were disclosed. Metromile aims to give customers more affordable car insurance and transparent pricing through a pay-per-mile insurance model. It also offers detailed vehicle diagnostics via a driving app. Intact, a Canadian property and casualty insurance provider, said it invested because it believes the company is "redefining the marketplace." Launched in 2011, Metromile is backed by Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Index Ventures, NEA and SV Angel.
4 min read · 16 February 2016
Canadian biotechnology company ScarX Therapeutics Inc has obtained $2 million in Series A financing. The investors in the round included Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator, BDC Capital and MaRS Innovation. Based in Toronto, ScarX is focused on developing and commercializing dermal scarring treatments that build on the research work of Dr. Benjamin Alman. It plans to use the funds to complete a Phase I clinical trial for its lead candidate, a prescription cream to reduce post-surgical scarring. Founded in 2012, ScarX previously raised $1.7 million in dilutive and $1 million in non-dilutive funding to advance its lead candidate and complete pre-clinical studies.
3 min read · 16 February 2016
Montréal-based Chronogolf, a golf course management solution and marketplace, has raised $1.5 million in financing, bringing its total funding to about $3 million. The latest round was led by Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital, which last month closed its fourth fund at $175 million. Telegraph Hill Capital, Anges Québec and BDC Capital also invested. Founded in 2012 by Guillaum Jacquet and Jean-David Saint-Martin, Chronogolf has developed a cloud software solution that organizes and streamlines golf courses and supports interactions between courses and players. To date, 220,000 golfers have booked over 2.5 million golf rounds using the company's booking engine.
2 min read · 16 February 2016
Indian online marketplace Snapdeal has raised US$200 million, giving it a valuation of around US$6.5 billion, as the company looks to ramp up investments in logistics and infrastructure in the fast-growing domestic e-commerce sector, Reuters reported. The fundraising was led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and funds advised by Iron Pillar.
1 min read · 16 February 2016
Mobify, a Vancouver-based mobile commerce and engagement platform, has secured $10 million in financing. The round was led by Acton Capital Partners, a German venture capital firm. With the deal, Hannes Blum, a venture partner at Acton, will join the company's board of directors, as will Influitive CEO Mark Organ. Founded in 2007, Mobify delivers technology and services that help businesses engage with connected consumers to increase revenue online and in-store. The company said it plans to accelerate global growth beyond its existing customers, which currently total 150. Last December, Mobify acquired Dónde, a Chicago-based provider of location-aware mobile technology.
4 min read · 16 February 2016
In the fourth quarter of 2015, Canadian merger and acquisition activity declined for a fifth time in six quarters, a fact masked by near-record value levels. That’s according to data developed by Crosbie & Co using Capital IQ and other sources. A total of 643 announced deals were recorded in Q4 2015, down from 705 deals a year ago. However, values in the final three months of last year totaled $137 billion, up from $116 billion in Q4 2014. Domestic activity, reflecting 435 deals valued at $20 billion in Q4 2015, was lower by all measures year over year, with outbound activity (Canadian buyers of foreign targets) accounting for the gain in dollar terms.
4 min read · 11 February 2016
Private company investors showed an abrupt caution for U.S.-based unicorn financings in the fourth quarter of last year with average valuations plunging and the use of tough deal terms on the rise. A recent Fenwick & West study is the latest piece of evidence to point to a cooling of interest in so-called unicorn deals as venture capitalists reassess exactly what their startups are worth.
2 min read · 10 February 2016
