Private Equity
Canadian angel groups invested a total of $89 million in early-stage companies last year. That is according to a new report published by the National Angel Capital Organization in partnership with the Canadian government, KPMG Enterprise and BDC Venture Capital. The 29 groups that participated in the study, representing more than 2,100 individual investors, were engaged in 199 deals in 2013. Angel funds were focused on information technology sectors, which took around $29 million invested, as well as life sciences and clean technology. The report also found that startups sponsored by Canadian accelerators last year captured more than $31 million from angel investors, venture capitalists and government sources.
4 min read · 27 May 2014
Water treatment solutions provider Saltworks Technologies Inc has received an undisclosed funding round from U.S. energy business ConocoPhillips Co (NYSE: COP). ConocoPhillips joins the company's existing corporate investors Cenovus Energy Inc (TSX, NYSE: CVE) and Teck Resources Ltd (TSX: TCK.A, TCK.B, NYSE: TCK). The venture capital program of Cenovus invested in Saltworks in 2011. Founded in 2008, the Vancouver-based Saltworks designs, manufactures and assembles systems for desalination, brine management and chemical recovery applications.
2 min read · 27 May 2014
Bit Stew Systems Inc has received a $3.5 million credit facility from U.S. technology investor Silicon Valley Bank. Founded in 2005, the Vancouver-based Bit Stew is a provider of integrated, real-time network operations solutions for the utility sector. Update: The company said the new partnership with Silicon Valley Bank builds on the Series A funding that was provided last December by Canadian venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners and Cisco Systems Inc. The new credit facility will enable Bit Stew to invest in its go-to-market strategy.
3 min read · 27 May 2014
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) have announced Mirametrix Inc as the inaugural winner of the BDC Innovation Award. The award honours an early-stage Canadian company that has succeeded in bringing innovation into the marketplace in a novel and exciting way. Based in Montréal, Mirametrix is a provider of eye-tracking software and devices to aid in human and computer interaction. It is also a portfolio company of venture capital firm TandemLaunch, and was in 2013 supported by an investment from members of angel organization Anges Québec.
3 min read · 23 May 2014
Venus Concept, a developer and manufacturer of devices for the medical aesthetic market, has secured $10 million in financing. The company's backer is U.S. venture capital firm Longitude Capital, which is focused on investing in medical technology and drug development companies. Funding proceeds will allow Venus Concept to further its R&D investments, strengthen sales operations in growing markets and implement its subscription-based business model worldwide. Led by a team of executives and researchers in the medical aesthetics industry, the Toronto-based company was founded in 2009.
2 min read · 23 May 2014
BitLit, a Vancouver-based app that helps readers obtain an e-book for a print book they own, has closed a seed funding round. The undisclosed deal included Three Angels Capital, a venture capital fund formed this year by Michael Serbinis, founder and former CEO of e-reading company Kobo Inc. BDC Venture Capital, WUTIF Capital, led by Mike Volker, and angel investor Jim Fletcher joined the round. Founded in 2012, BitLit has partnered with 85 publishers and has more than 10,000 titles available for print and e-book bundling. Last October, Lars Leckie, managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, wrote a peHUB Canada exclusive about Mike Serbinis' legacy as a Canadian entrepreneur.
2 min read · 22 May 2014
Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ has joined with TVM Capital Life Science and U.S.-based Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp to invest in the establishment of PRCL Research Inc. The investment's value was not disclosed. Based in Montréal, PRCL Research is a special purpose company that develops pharmaceutical assets from the pre-clinical stage up to human proof-of-concept in single asset entities. Funding proceeds will be used to support its development with Synta of an oral treatment for psoriasis based on molecules developed by Synta and licensed to PRCL. Headquartered in Montréal, Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests growth capital in companies primarily located in Québec.
3 min read · 22 May 2014
Dejero has received $4.5 million in growth funding from Canadian venture capital firm BEST Funds. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Dejero is a wireless transmission company. Update: Proceeds of the investment will allow the business to extend its sales growth while continuing to develop cutting-edge technologies for the broadcasting industry. The Toronto-based BEST funds earlier this year invested in enterprise solutions provider PitchPoint Solutions Inc and wireless optimization provider XipLink Inc.
2 min read · 22 May 2014
BDC Venture Capital and GrowthWorks have received the 2014 "Deal of the Year" award in the venture capital category from Canada’s Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. They won for their return on investment in Layer 7 Technologies Inc, a Vancouver-based provider of application programming interface management and security bought by CA Technologies Inc in 2013. On their investment, BDC and GrowthWorks have realized cash proceeds of US$78 million to date. The multiple of capital on the original investment on a cash realized basis is 4.4x, or a 23.2% IRR, and is expected to be 5.2x on a total basis once all proceeds are released from escrow, for a 25.6% IRR.
4 min read · 22 May 2014
Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association and Thomson Reuters have announced the results of Canadian venture capital market activity in the first quarter of 2014. The report found $378 million of VC invested in total in this period, up 2% from the same time last year. Financing rounds, totaling 122 in Q1 2014, rose a more substantial 16%. Slightly higher dollar flows owed to major deals, including those backing Edmonton's Aurinia, Vancouver's BuildDirect, and Dorval, Québec's Clementia. The fundraising of Canadian VC firms also increased in the first three months of the year, with $531 million committed in total, or 10% more year over year. A full report of Canadian VC market trends in Q1 2014 can be found here.
4 min read · 20 May 2014
