Private Equity
Carré Technologies Inc, a.k.a. Hexoskin, has secured $1.32 million in a second round of financing from angel investment network Anges Québec and Anges Québec Capital Fund. Based in Montréal, Hexoskin is a designer and manufacturer of biometric shirts that measure cardiorespiratory activity, physical activity and sleep. The proceeds of the latest round will allow it to accelerate the medical certification of its clothing technology and pursue growth opportunities in the global digital health market. Hexoskin was founded in 2006 by CEO Pierre-Alexandre Fournier and CTO Jean-François Roy.
3 min read · 15 December 2015
Trulioo has raised $15 million in follow-on financing. The investors in the round included American Express Ventures and Trulioo's existing backers: BDC Capital, Blumberg Capital and Tenfore Holdings. With the deal, BDC's Andrew Lugsdin will join the company's board of directors, Based in Vancouver, Trulioo is a provider of identity verification for the online payments industry. It said the new funds will help it grow to support banks in meeting cross-border compliance requirements. To that end, Trulioo will expand its sales team, technical infrastructure and customer support, and acquire data. In 2014, Trulioo raised US$6 million in Series A financing and a strategic investment from UST Global.
3 min read · 14 December 2015
Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), part of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, has given its first annual Capital Award to Haig Farris, a Canadian venture capital pioneer. CDL's award recognizes an individual or organization that has had an impact on Canada's competitiveness through the application of capital to the areas of science, technology, and commerce. Farris was the award's debut recipient in part because of his role in co-founding Ventures West Management, one of the domestic industry's most influential and longest-lived venture firms. Farris has since led Fractal Capital Corp, a Canadian angel and seed investment firm.
4 min read · 14 December 2015
Inception IBD has closed a $14.1 million Series A financing led by Versant Ventures, a U.S. life sciences venture capital firm. Versant was joined in the round by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and by existing investor Inserm Transfert Initiative. Seeded last year, Inception IBD is the first company to be launched from drug discovery incubator Inception Sciences Montreal, which is backed by Versant. It aims to advance novel targets identified from genomic analysis of inflammatory bowel disease tissue (IBD) and from proprietary drug discovery tools licensed from Inserm. Inception IBD plans to use the proceeds of its Series A round to develop a portfolio of therapeutics.
3 min read · 10 December 2015
Boundless Spatial has obtained US$5 million in Series B funding. Motorola Solutions Venture Capital led the deal and was joined by existing investors, including Vanedge Capital, a Canadian venture capital firm that led the company's Series A financing in 2013. New York-based Boundless is a provider of open source geospatial software and services which utilize location-based mapping technology. Proceeds of the latest round will be applied to continued investment in engineering and sales expansion, the company said. Earlier this year, Vanedge led investments in Control Mobile and MediaCore, which was subsequently acquired by Workday.
3 min read · 10 December 2015
Montréal-based Orckestra, a software and services provider, has secured $12 million in Series B financing, adding to the $8 million raised last year. Orckestra's existing investors, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction CSN and W Investments, committed to the latest financing. Founded in 2006, Orckestra has developed an omni-channel commerce solution for mid-size and large enterprise retailers, grocers and branded manufacturers. Its new investment will be used to expand the company's sales capabilities in North America and increased presence in Europe, complete the integration of Composite, acquired by Orckestra earlier this year, and other priorities.
5 min read · 10 December 2015
Torys LLP has released its latest and much-anticipated M&A Top Trends 2016 report. It explores how deal-makers will work to find new M&A opportunities and close deals in the months ahead. Torys has identified five key trends that will be of particular interest to buyout, private equity and venture capital professionals, and to other readers of PE Hub Canada.
3 min read · 09 December 2015
Preqin has reported that about a third of U.S.-based venture capital firms invested in foreign markets in year-to-date 2015. It said Canada is "the most sought-after destination", with 10 percent of American firms investing there in the same period. India received investments from 6 percent of U.S. firms, while the United Kingdom accounted for the same share. Preqin reported that the value of venture capital financings located in the United States is on track to break records this year, with US$54.6 billion invested in the first nine months, just behind the high of US$55.7 billion invested in all of 2014.
4 min read · 09 December 2015
PowerStores Ecommerce Ltd, a web building platform and service provider, has rebranded as Webware.io. The startup, which has offices in Toronto and Panjim, India, has also raised an undisclosed investment from Canadian venture capital firm Extreme Venture Partners and William Bissell, who invested via his family office. Webware.io provides a complete tool kit to help enterprises navigate and become competitive in the digital world. It plans to use the new funds to support its expansion across North America as it targets small and medium-sized businesses that can benefit from its services. Webware.io was launched in 2012 by CEO Cory York and CTO Indrajit Chowdhury.
3 min read · 09 December 2015
Nasdaq said it would acquire the Canadian unit of alternative equities trading platform Chi-X Global Holdings in a deal giving it direct access to the Canadian equities market, Reuters reported. Financial terms were not disclosed; however, a recent media report said deal would value Chi-X Canada at about US$100 million.
1 min read · 08 December 2015
