Private Equity
Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc has obtained a public listing on the TSX Venture Exchange following the close of a previously announced qualifying transaction with Rodeo Capital III Corp, now known as SBTI. SBTI will now be listed as a Tier 2 exchange issuer. Solegear, a Vancouver-based maker of high-performance bioplastics products, said it also raised $4.2 million in a private placement financing and debt conversion. Canadian venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners, which led the company's Series A round in 2012, subscribed for units valued at $300,000. Also backed by Best Buy Capital and angel investors, Solegear secured a venture debt facility from Comerica last October.
7 min read · 27 March 2015
CareGuide, a marketplace for care services, has secured additional seed-stage investment from a large group of angel investors. They included Karamdeep Nijjar, a partner at Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital. According to AngelList, the latest round brings the company's total financing to date to close to $5 million. Nijjar said that CareGuide will use the new funds to grow and reinforce existing investments "in an aggressive product roadmap." Founded in 2012, the Toronto-based company is focused on matching families with quality care providers through a portfolio of websites.
3 min read · 26 March 2015
Merchant bank and advisory firm Kirchner Group has completed its management of Foragen Technologies Management, a Canadian venture capital investor focused on agricultural technology. Kirchner, which managed the firm's assets on behalf of the Royal Bank of Canada and two provincial institutional investors, said that it facilitated the sale of three of Foragen's portfolio companies to strategic acquirers. One company was sold for about US$500 million, while another "grew into a market leader in its sector." Founded in 2000, Foragen is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
5 min read · 26 March 2015
Dream Payments Corp, a mobile payment startup, has obtained $6 million in funding from a group of investors, including Canadian firms Blue Sky Capital, Real Ventures and Rouge River Capital. The Toronto-based company, which has developed a cloud-based platform that enables merchants to use mobile point of sale terminals to accept all forms of payments, said the funding proceeds will allow it to launch and to roll out solutions across North America. With the round's closing, Real Ventures GP Janet Bannister will join Dream Payments' board of directors. Founded in 2014, the company is led by CEO Brent Ho-Young and other senior industry executives.
4 min read · 26 March 2015
Sensibill Inc, a provider of receipt management solutions, has secured $2 million in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures and was joined by Six Squared Capital, the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Ryerson Futures. Based in Toronto, Sensibill has developed technology that helps eliminate the need to collect paper receipts by digitizing them directly from any source and in any format. With the deal's closing, Bryan Kerdman, managing partner of Impression Ventures, will join the company's board of directors. Last September, the firm committed to funding that launched Wealthsimple, a provider of personalized investment strategies.
3 min read · 26 March 2015
Members of Anges Québec, Anges Québec Capital Fund and Fier Succès have partnered to invest $1.225 million of follow-on funding in Feldan, a biopharmaceutical company based in Québec City. The round, the third in a series of financings by Anges Québec since 2011, was co-led by entrepreneurs Sylvain Chartier and Jean-Marc Rousseau. Established in 2007, Feldan is focused on supplying quality reagents necessary for the growth and differentiation of stem cells outside the human body. Last month, Anges Québec Capital Fund, a fund established to invest alongside Anges Québec members, was recapitalized at $85 million.
4 min read · 25 March 2015
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has named businessman Gerry Pond its first-ever BDC Entrepreneurship Champion. The award recognizes an entrepreneur who has created and grown one or more successful small or medium-sized businesses and has contributed to Canada's entrepreneurship ecosystem. Pond, who is chairman of Mariner Partners Inc, has co-founded a number of venture-backed information technology startups in Atlantic Canada, including Q1 Labs Inc and Radian6 Technologies Inc. He has also co-founded and helped lead startup accelerators and incubators in the region, including East Valley Ventures.
3 min read · 25 March 2015
Atlantic Motor Labs Inc, an engineering company specializing in turbomachinery development, has received $250,000 in seed financing from Canadian venture capital firm Innovacorp. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Atlantic Motor Labs said it will use the funding proceeds to demonstrate and commercialize its down-hole motor technology, which is targeted to oil and gas and mining operations. Founded in 2013 as a spin-out from research work done at Dalhousie University, the company is led by founder and president Braden Murphy. It has previously raised $350,000 from other investors.
2 min read · 25 March 2015
Canadian clean-tech venture capital firm Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital has added Peter Bryant to its advisory board. Bryant is a 30-year executive business strategist and a standing senior fellow of the Kellogg Innovation Network. Based in Vancouver, Chrysalix is focused on making investments in sustainable innovations targeted to energy-intensive sectors.
3 min read · 24 March 2015
Lumenpulse Inc (TSX: LMP) has acquired all of the shares of SDL Lighting Inc, a designer and manufacturer of outdoor LED luminaires based in Québec City. The total cash consideration was $3.2 million. Headquartered in Montréal, Lumenpulse is a manufacturer of high performance, specification-grade LED lighting solutions. The company said the deal will expand its product portfolio and accelerate its entry into certain lighting segments. Lumenpulse went public in 2014, but continues to be backed by Canadian venture capital firm XPND Capital and other investors.
5 min read · 24 March 2015
