Private Equity
Farmers Edge Inc has secured a new investment from a private commercial real estate firm owned and controlled by David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters. Osmington Inc committed undisclosed funding to the company, joining existing venture capital investors Avrio Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Headquarted in Winnipeg, Farmers Edge is a provider of precision agriculture and independent data management solutions. It said the Osmington partnership will support growth into global markets and building of its data analytics team. Earlier this year, Farmers Edge acquired GranDuke Geomatics Ltd.
3 min read · 26 August 2015
Digital giving platform Causemo has been launched with a US$4 million investment from a mix of venture capital firms and other investors. The latter include Accomplice, Furneaux Capital, Park Vale Capital and Canada's Real Ventures. Founded last year, Boston-based Causemo is developing a scalable platform that connects consumers with causes they care about through digital giving experiences. The startup is currently working with close to 20 cause organizations, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and City Year, to drive donations using its technology.
3 min read · 26 August 2015
Knight Therapeutics Inc (TSX: GUD), a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, has joined Sectoral Asset Management in an investment in Advaxis Inc (NASDAQ: ADXS), a U.S. clinical-stage biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies. Knight and Sectoral are purchasing shares in the company, the combined gross proceeds of which will be about US$25 million. The deal is linked to a licensing agreement that will give Knight the Canadian commercial rights to Advaxis's product portfolio, which includes three lead drug candidates. Sectoral manages a life sciences venture fund that recently received commitments from Knight.
7 min read · 26 August 2015
Vistara Capital Partners, a Canadian growth investor in technology companies, recently hired Noah Shipman as a senior associate. Shipman, who was previously a principal at technology-focused boutique investment bank Garibaldi Capital Advisors, has several years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning. Based in Vancouver, Vistara was founded this year by Managing Partners Fabio Banducci and Randy Garg. Last month, the firm closed its inaugural fund, Vistara Capital Partners Fund I LP, at $100 million.
3 min read · 26 August 2015
Maple Leaf Angels announced this week that it has led a $750k financing round in Sharethebus through its MLA48 Fund. Based in Montreal, Sharethebus is a platform for providing private ride-share charter buses and was founded in 2014.
3 min read · 21 August 2015
AVAC's Accelerate Fund, an early stage angel co-investment fund, announced this week it has made an investment in Levven Electronics, an Edmonton-based manufacturer of electronic and automation products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
3 min read · 21 August 2015
China's Tencent Holdings Ltd has taken a $50 million stake in Kik Interactive, an investment that values the Canadian mobile messaging company at more than $1 billion, Kik said on Wednesday.
2 min read · 19 August 2015
Canada-based online lender Grouplend has secured $10.2 million in funding. Markus Frind, CEO of PlentyofFish and Lance Tracey, founder of Peer 1 Hosting and Sutton Real Estate Group, led the round.
3 min read · 19 August 2015
NexusCrowd, a Toronto-based equity crowdfunding platform, recently announced that it has received its Exempt Market Dealer license from the Ontario Securities Commission, allowing it to provide accredited investors the opportunity to co-invest alongside venture capital firms in Canadian VC deals.
2 min read · 17 August 2015
OMERS Ventures has closed its second venture fund at $260 million. Fund II's limited partners include BMO Financial Group and Cisco Investments. The pool will focus on Canadian tech companies.
2 min read · 17 August 2015
