Private Equity
MedAvail Technologies Inc has received US$30 million in a Series C financing round. The round was led by U.S. healthcare investment firm Pura Vida Investments and was joined by Deerfield Management Co and Adage Capital Management, all of which are new investors in the company. Existing investors Redmile Group, Walgreens Inc and Alliance Boots GmbH also participated in the deal. The Mississauga, Ontario-based MedAvail, which was formed in 2012, will use the new funds to help commercialize its MedAvail MedCenter system, a prescription-drug dispensing kiosk to be deployed in hospitals, clinics, retail locations, pharmacies, employer sites and other locations.
3 min read · 17 October 2014
Canadian venture capital firm iNovia Capital has opened an office in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. A blog post by firm partner Karamdeep Nijjar said the decision was made because of the high quality of technology product teams being produced by the University of Waterloo, the large number of successful local company founders, and sophisticated local organizations that help build innovative companies, such as Communitech. Based in Montréal and with managed capital totaling $275 million, iNovia is focused on making early-stage investments in digital media, SaaS, e-commerce and connected devices sectors.
4 min read · 16 October 2014
Slyce Inc (TSX-V: SLC), a visual search technology company based in Calgary and Toronto, has completed its previously announced purchase of BuyCode Inc for a total consideration of US$5 million in shares, cash and earn-out incentives. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, BuyCode is the developer of the Pounce image recognition-based shopping app. The company was backed by Entrée Capital, Gigi Levy-Weiss and Plus Ventures. Slyce said the acquisition will bolster its suite of mobile shopping services and help it advance its business-to-consumer strategy. The formerly venture-backed Slyce closed a going public deal in July.
6 min read · 16 October 2014
Xagenic Inc has named Timothy I. Still as its new president and CEO. He will also serve on the company's board of directors. Still previously led Accumetrics Inc, a U.S.-based point-of-care test manufacturer acquired by ITC Nexus Holding Co in 2013. Based in Toronto, Xagenic is the developer of a fully-automated molecular diagnostic platform that will enable lab-free testing. It is backed by a number of Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms, including BDC Capital, CTI Life Sciences Fund, Domain Associates and Ontario Capital Growth Corp.
3 min read · 16 October 2014
Canadian specialty pharmaceuticals company Highland Therapeutics Inc has raised US$25 million in follow-on financing. The deal was led by an unnamed private equity partner. Update: The Toronto-based company said that proceeds will be used to conduct clinical development and study of its lead drug product candidates, expand manufacturing capacity and pursue pipeline expansion opportunities. Highland Therapeutics is a client of Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District.
3 min read · 16 October 2014
Keek Inc (TSX-V: KEK), a mobile video social network, has appointed David Birnbaum to its board of directors. Birnbaum is the president of Broadway Video Ventures, the corporate strategy, venture capital investment and acquisition arm of U.S.-based Broadway Video Entertainment Inc. He is also a former investment professional at British private equity firm Apax Partners. Update: Based in Toronto, Keek has been backed by a number of private equity and venture capital firms since 2011.
3 min read · 16 October 2014
Envestnet Inc (NYSE: ENV) recently closed its acquisition of Placemark Investments Inc for US$66 million. Based in Dallas and Boston, Placemark is a developer of unified managed accounts programs for banks, broker-dealers and registered investment advisory firms. The transaction has provided exits to the company's investors, which include RBC Venture Partners, the venture capital investment arm of Canadian bank RBC. Placement's other backers have included U.S. venture capital firms Flybridge Capital Partners and North Hill Ventures.
4 min read · 15 October 2014
Toronto-based media company Blue Ant Media Inc has joined forces with KeyWest Marketing Ltd to form Outdoor Group Media, a publisher of outdoor publications in Canada. The new company, which The Canadian Press reported was the result of a joint venture, and not a merger, will bring together a number of outdoor sports magazines and a subscriber base of 200,000. Blue Ant is backed by Relay Ventures, Kensington Global Private Equity Fund and Difference Capital Financial.
2 min read · 15 October 2014
With a number of Canadian venture-backed startups reportedly poised to go public, advice from someone with experience in this area might be welcome. Earlier in 2014, visual search technology platform Slyce began public trading after a period of raising venture capital financing. The startup's co-founder Cameron Chell, shares three things he wished he had known before taking the plunge.
4 min read · 15 October 2014
Molecular diagnostics company Xagenic Inc has secured $6 million from Genome Canada for a project being done in partnership with the University of Toronto. The project, which is supported by a matching grant from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, will develop lower-cost technology for Hepatitis C testing. In July, the Toronto-based Xagenic announced the $25.5 million second close of its Series B financing round. Venture capital firms investing in the round included BDC Capital, CTI Life Sciences Fund, Domain Associates and Ontario Capital Growth Corp.
3 min read · 15 October 2014
