Private Equity
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ has reported comprehensive income totaling $112 million for the six-month period ended November 30, 2015, which contributed to a 12-month return of 7.1 percent. Net assets managed by the Fonds also rose to $11.2 billion. The Fonds reported investing $324 million throughout Québec during the six-month period. Activity included the $186 million acquisition of Manac Inc, a Saint Georges, Québec-based specialty trailers manufacturer. The Fonds also led the $9 million Series A funding of NoviFlow Inc, a Montréal-based networking technology startup.
3 min read · 05 January 2016
United Wind Inc, which has carved out a niche leasing wind turbines to farms and rural homes, has clinched US$200 million in funding from Canada's Forum Equity Partners, the largest-ever single investment in small wind projects, Reuters reported. The funding is a vote of confidence not only in the U.S.-based startup, but in the nascent market for wind energy that is both produced and used on site.
3 min read · 05 January 2016
Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Athletigen Technologies Inc, a sports genetics technology company, has secured $1.55 million in seed-stage financing. Exponential Partners, a U.S. venture capital firm, led the round. In addition to the funding, Pat Wilkison of Exponential Partners, has been named to the company's board of directors. Founded in 2014, Athletigen said it planned to use the investment's proceeds to support the growth of its Athletigen Performance Platform, a tool used by athletes, including those preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
3 min read · 04 January 2016
BDC Capital has recruited Darren Oko, a Canadian commercial banker and investment pro, to serve as director in its Growth and Transition Capital group. Oko previously worked at HSBC Bank Canada, where he served in a number of executive roles, including in the bank's private equity group.
2 min read · 22 December 2015
Axios Mobile Assets Corp, a Canadian smart supply chain logistics provider, has secured $14 million in a financing led by Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. As a result, Relay Managing Partner John Albright will join the company's board of directors. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Axios has developed a pallet-based logistics system used in the perishable food category. It said it will use the proceeds of the investment to meet demand for its system from food producers in the United States. Concurrent with its financing, Axios said it has wrapped up the acquisition of Axsense Inc, a Canadian provider of sensors technology that Axios believes will enhance its pallet system.
6 min read · 22 December 2015
New York-based WorkFusion, an enterprise smart process automation company, has secured US$14 million in Series C financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Nokia Growth Partners and was joined by existing investors, including Canadian firm iNovia Capital, which led the company's Series A round in 2013. Mohr Davidow Ventures, Greycroft Partners and RTP Ventures also invested. WorkFusion's technology is used to automate high-volume, labour-intensive processes historically performed by business process outsourcing. It said it will use the new funding to accelerate growth and expand business development efforts.
3 min read · 21 December 2015
Kik Interactive Inc has bought Blynk, the developer of mobile fashion app BlynkStyle. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Toronto, Blynk was founded in December 2013 by CEO Jaclyn Ling and CTO Shums Kassam to help people obtain quality fashion advice and recommendations. Kik, a mobile messaging platform, said the deal will help it "further delve into the world of bots and personal chat assistants." In August, Waterloo-based Kik secured US$50 million from China's Tencent Holdings. The round added to company's $38.3 million Series C funding led by Valiant Capital Partners in November 2014.
2 min read · 21 December 2015
Covington Group of Funds will open up Covington Fund II for redemptions by shareholders as of January 18, 2016. Redemptions will be honoured for up to 20 percent of the fund's net asset value in the current financial year, or $24 million in total. Covington Fund II, a retail venture capital fund, is currently focused on optimizing the value of investment holdings and creating liquidity. In September, the fund became the controlling investor in Masstech Group Inc, a Canadian provider of workflow and media asset management software solutions.
3 min read · 16 December 2015
Slack, a group messaging platform founded by Canadian entrepreneur Stewart Butterfield, has formed a US$80 million venture capital fund. The Slack Fund will invest in developers or small companies seeking to build “Slack-first” apps, as well as business-to-business and enterprise tools that make Slack integrations a core part of their offering. Six of the company's investors, Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Spark Capital Growth and Social+Capital, have committed to the fund. Slack, which has offices in San Francisco and Vancouver, raised US$160 million in a financing in April.
4 min read · 16 December 2015
Toronto-based Clear Blue Technologies Inc, a smart off-grid company, has raised $1.85 million in a private placement transaction. Haywood Securities, a Canadian investment dealer, was the round's leader. The investment adds to the $500,000 in funding secured by Clear Blue in 2014 from Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp and the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE). The company, which aims to combine green energy with the advantages of communications and cloud technology to power and control off-grid lighting, security and mobile solutions, said it will achieve 300 percent sales growth this year.
3 min read · 16 December 2015
