Private Equity
A total of $588 million was invested in 151 companies in Québec's venture capital market in 2013, up 46% from 2012 and reflecting the highest level of disbursements since 2007, according to data provided by Thomson Reuters and released by Réseau Capital. Québec financings consequently took a higher proportion of dollars invested across Canada last year, or 30% of the nearly $2 billion invested in total. Additionally, buyout and related private equity deal-making in Québec accounted for a sizeable $3.6 billion in disclosed values in 2013, down 20% from the year before, but surpassing activity in 2011, 2010 and 2009. Close to two-thirds of the 120 transactions announced or completed in total in Québec last year showed disclosed values of $10 million or less.
4 min read · 28 February 2014
Canada's provincial securities regulators are looking to extend their jurisdiction to cover crowdfunding, the grass-roots form of fundraising being pursued by a growing number of start-ups and small ventures, reports Reuters. The Canadian Securities Administrators , the council of provincial regulators, said on Thursday they aim to strike a balance between making more cash available to promising start-ups and ensuring investors aren't stretching beyond their means to invest in risky bets. The proposals, which are open to public comment until the end of May, include a framework to manage the growth of online crowdfunding sites pitching private opportunities to investors who might then decide to invest between C$20,000 (US$17,900) and C$150,000. The Ontario Securities Commission, the biggest of the country's provincial regulators, said the proposed amendments would require changes to its definition of so-called accredited investors, who can legally invest without seeing a prospectus.
2 min read · 28 February 2014
MultiCorpora R&D Inc, a provider of translation technology solutions, has agreed to be purchased by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co (Nasdaq: RRD) for an undisclosed amount. The Chicago, IL-based R. R. Donnelley & Sons, an integrated communications company, said the acquisition will enhance its client offering in the areas of multi-lingual web content solutions and transcreation. Based in Gatineau, Québec, MultiCorpora has previously been venture-backed. Its investors have included the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ.
3 min read · 27 February 2014
Dennis Kavelman, COO of Desire2Learn Inc, a portfolio company of New Enterprise Associates and OMERS Ventures, has been appointed the first independent director of Thalmic Labs Inc. Kavelman, who is the former CFO and Co-COO of BlackBerry Ltd, joins the board alongside Stephen Lake, the company's CEO and co-founder, and Nabeel Hyatt, venture partner at Spark Capital. Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Thalmic Labs is a developer of gesture control and wearable technology. In June 2013, the company closed a $14.5 million Series A financing round led by Spark Capital and Intel Capital.
2 min read · 27 February 2014
Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Reuters announced the results of Canadian venture capital investment activity in 2013. The report found a total of $2.0 billion invested last year, up 31% from 2012, and reflecting the highest level of disbursements since 2007. Deal-making was led in information technology sectors, and by a number of major financings, including the US$165 million Series B financing of Vancouver’s HootSuite, the largest in the domestic market's history. Year-over-year growth was supported by increased activity on the part of both Canadian and foreign VC funds. In contrast with deal trends, VC fund-raising activity, totaling $1.3 billion in 2013, declined 24% relative to the especially strong fund-raising year that was reported in 2012. Full reports of Canadian market trends in 2013 can be downloaded in english and in french.
5 min read · 27 February 2014
LX Ventures (TSX Venture: LXV), an accelerator that acquires, integrates and supports high-growth technology companies, is undertaking a private placement offering to raise up to $3 million. Funds raised will be used to accelerate the growth of companies recently added to LX Ventures' portfolio. These include Vancouver-based music content network Mobio Technologies Inc, bought in May 2013; Vancouver-based online campaign platform Strutta.com Media Inc, bought in Dec. 2013, and; Las Vegas, Nevada-based cloud manager Copper.io Inc, bought in Jan. 2014. LX Ventures has it headquarters in Vancouver.
4 min read · 27 February 2014
An infographic created by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) highlights data attesting to the positive impact of venture investment in Canadian innovative companies. Some of the data come from a 2013 report, published by the CVCA in partnership with Industry Canada and Statistics Canada, providing new evidence of the economic benefits of market activity. Speaking about Canadian venture deal-making trends in 2013, BDC executive vice-president Jérôme Nycz said results show "the fruits of an ecosystem coming together." BDC also pointed to recent trends that have been influenced by BDC Venture Capital's fund-of-funds activity, direct investments made by its specialty IT, energy/cleantech and healthcare funds, and its role in facilitating the implementation of Ottawa's Venture Capital Action Plan.
4 min read · 27 February 2014
Hatchbrands Ventures, a specialized micro-capital fund, has agreed to be acquired by iBrands Corp, a Roswell, Georgia-based holding company that acquires and operates niche market brands. The financial terms of the transaction, and the transaction's completion date, were not published. Founded in 2010, the Ottawa-based Hatchbrand makes pre-IPO investments in technology startups developed in accelerators and incubators found in post-secondary environments.
2 min read · 26 February 2014
Canadian venture capital firm BEST Funds has invested $1.5 million in XipLink Inc, a Montréal-based developer of wireless bandwidth optimization products. Proceeds of the investment will be used for sales and marketing initiatives, as well as to support the company's continued technological developments. Founded in 2007 by a team of wireless data communications professionals, XipLink sells its applications and embedded software to clients worldwide. The Toronto-based BEST funds earlier this month invested in enterprise solutions provider PitchPoint Solutions Inc.
2 min read · 26 February 2014
Canadian venture capital firm Georgian Partners has secured a total of $100 million in the first close of its second partnership, Georgian Partners Growth Fund II. The lead investor was Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund, managed by Canadian private markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners, which earlier this month announced that it had committed to Fund II. Additional backers of the first closing include BMO Financial Group, Kensington Capital Partners, Fondaction CSN, family offices and a large strategic software investor. Georgian Partners said the new fund will continue to invest in expansion-stage enterprise software, Internet and information companies that are exploiting applied analytics. One of the firm's portfolio companies, Shopify Inc, raised $100 million in a Series C round last December. Founded in 2008, Georgian Partners is based in Toronto.
3 min read · 25 February 2014
