Private Equity
When it comes to helping technology companies raise risk capital, Canadian innovation hub MaRS Discovery District appears to be doing the job. Entrepreneurs and startups supported by MaRS programs have since 2009 leveraged close to $840 million from angel investors, venture capital firms and other sources, according to MaRS stats shared with peHUB Canada.
5 min read · 15 July 2013
Canadian venture capital firm GrowthWorks announced that its retail fund, Working Opportunity Fund (WOF), would resume redemptions of its venture series shares. Simultaneous to this announcement, the firm pointed to growth of 22% in the value of WOF’s venture series due to the recent sale of the fund's portfolio company Layer 7 Technologies Inc. to CA Technologies Inc. and other developments.
4 min read · 14 June 2013
Toronto innovation hub MaRS Discovery District has selected the first three companies to participate in its Excellence in Clinical Innovation and Technology Evaluation (EXCITE) program, which accelerates the adoption of breakthrough medical technologies. The companies are: ApneaDx Inc., a developer of a home-based device for diagnosing sleep apnea, Medtronic of Canada Ltd., a developer of treatments for drug-resistant hypertension, and Rna Diagnostics Inc., a developer of a diagnostic tool to improve breast cancer treatment outcomes.
5 min read · 07 June 2013
Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney recently traveled to Silicon Valley to promote the federal Start-Up Visa program, launched in April. Kenney met with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and others in start-up and technology communities. Start-Up Visa requires that non-resident entrepreneurs obtain funding from a Canadian angel investor group or venture capital firm when applying for visas.
3 min read · 31 May 2013
GrowthWorks Canadian Fund, managed by Vancouver-based GrowthWorks, has amended an agreement with Roseway Capital LP, managed by British venture capital firm Rosetta Capital, pertaining to a $20 million secondary investment made in the Canadian fund in 2010. The amendment allows for repayment in June 2013. The Roseway investment agreement, which may be subject to further changes, was intended to provide additional capital for follow-on investments and enhance the Canadian venture capital fund’s operating and financial flexibility.
3 min read · 30 May 2013
Vancouver-based asset and wealth management company Matrix Asset Management Inc. and its subsidiaries, which include venture capital firm GrowthWorks, announced they are pursuing measures for "re-establishing compliance with regulatory working capital requirements." Earlier in May, Matrix issued operating results for the first quarter of 2013 showing a working capital deficit of $7 million. The company has arranged for loan financing and will examine steps to consolidate subsidiary operations to enhance efficiency.
4 min read · 28 May 2013
The Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ, one of Canada’s oldest private equity firms, celebrates its 30th birthday this year. Founded in 1983 by Québec’s largest labour federation, Fonds FTQ marked the occasion in February by welcoming its 600,000th retail investor.
4 min read · 27 May 2013
Canadian wireless commercialization hub Wavefront is partnering with Waterloo's Communitech on a new initiative to accelerate the growth of wireless and technology companies. With financial support available from the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program, Wavefront will as part of the initiative bring resources to Communitech network companies, including advisory and mentorship programs, as well as mobile application development and testing services.
3 min read · 16 May 2013
BDC Venture Capital is partnering with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to expand the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) program in the United States. The partnership will enable development of new accelerators in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Since 2009, US-based CTAs have hosted Canadian technology entrepreneurs and companies, providing mentoring and networking opportunities, as well as opportunities to pitch products to potential American clients, strategic partners and financiers.
3 min read · 09 May 2013
Toronto-based Cyberplex Inc., an advertising and media company, announced that it has rebranded itself and will in future be operating under the name EQads Inc., the same as its advertising platform. The company has in the past been backed by Canadian private equity and venture capital firms Mosaic Venture Partners and Difference Capital Funding.
2 min read · 06 May 2013
