Private Equity
Canadian venture capital firm GrowthWorks Capital has obtained a loan of around $1 million from R.C. Morris & Company Special Opportunities Debt Fund II LP. The loan adds to the fund's previously extended $5.4 million loan, announced in 2013. In November, the Vancouver-based GrowthWorks said that Christopher Morris, principal of the R.C. Morris & Co fund, had been named the firm's new president and CEO.
3 min read · 01 December 2014
Wellington Financial has provided US$10 million in venture debt financing to a specialist in advertising planning and sales solutions for the media industry. The identity of the venture-backed company was not published. Proceeds of the transaction will support the development and launch of the company's improved delivery platform. Mark McQueen, president and CEO of the Toronto-based Wellington, said American venture-backed technology companies now make up 80 percent of the specialty finance firm's portfolio.
2 min read · 01 December 2014
Intel Corp said it has acquired PasswordBox, a Montréal-based identity management service that gives users a convenient way to log into websites and applications from any device without having to type or recall passwords, Reuters reported. The acquisition's value was not disclosed. PasswordBox last year secured US$6 million in a Series A financing round led by the OMERS Ventures and joined by several Silicon Valley angel investors.
2 min read · 01 December 2014
In the United States, wealth management firms, such as mutual funds, have increasingly played a part in the venture capital industry. In contrast, wealth managers in Canada have largely elected to bypass VC, despite embracing other alternative asset classes. In a peHUB Canada exclusive article, Richard Rémillard asks why this is the case and suggests how Canadian wealth managers and VC funds might find common ground.
5 min read · 28 November 2014
Technology startups in Canada are seeking to lure back expatriates from Silicon Valley with the promise of executive roles, generous stakes and the chance to stamp their mark on a nascent industry, Reuters reported. Michael Katchen is one of the first. He came home to Toronto after helping to build and then sell a company in California. Four of the 40-odd employees of his new startup, Wealthsimple, were once expatriates too.
3 min read · 28 November 2014
ChainSync has secured $500,000 in funding from an unnamed angel investor. The London, Ontario-based company said it will use the proceeds to hire additional employees. Founded in 2012 by CEO Mike DeLorenzi, ChainSync's technology enables franchise organizations to recruit more franchisees, streamline operations, monitor performance, and turn leads into customers. Earlier in 2014, the company announced that is product users in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and the Middle East had grown to over 500.
2 min read · 27 November 2014
U.S. renewable chemical company Allylix Inc recently agreed to be acquired by Evolva Holding SA in an all-share deal estimated by Thomson Reuters to value US$61 million. Evola, a Swiss biosynthetic company that develops ingredients and processes for nutrition, health care, and wellness products, said the acquisition will expand and enhance its product and intellectual property portfolio. Founded in 2002, Allylix has been venture-backed since 2005. Its investors include Canada's Avrio Capital, which in 2012 participated in Allylix's US$18.2 million follow-on financing led by BASF Venture Capital.
6 min read · 27 November 2014
Dealmaking in Canada’s venture capital (VC) market stayed on a growth path in dollar terms in Q3 2014, according to data released by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and research partner Thomson Reuters. VC funds invested $734 million in this period, up 26 percent year over year. In the first nine months of 2014, market activity was also tracking ahead of trends in 2013, with more than $1.6 billion invested to date, up 16 percent from the year before.
5 min read · 27 November 2014
A new survey conducted by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has found that close to 80 percent of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises intend to invest in new projects over the next 12 months. Planned areas of business investment included marketing, technology and operations optimization. R&D projects were ear-marked to receive the greatest amount of money, with over one third of respondents planning to invest more than $100,000. The survey also found that exporters were more inclined to invest in new projects than non-exporters.
4 min read · 27 November 2014
Amit Srivastava has joined Canadian venture capital firm Cycle Capital Management as a senior partner. Previously, Srivastava served as managing partner and CEO of Entrepia Ventures, a venture capital firm that manages technology funds in Canada and the United States. Prior to joining Entrepia in 2001, he worked at JP Morgan Chase, which included a senior investment role at JP Morgan Partners. Based in Montréal, Cycle Capital invests in clean technology companies. It currently manages $230 million in assets.
3 min read · 27 November 2014
