North America

Hamilton Lane opens Toronto office led by ex-CVCA CEO Mike Woollatt

Hamilton Lane, a US$470 billion private-markets investment and advisory firm, has opened an office in Toronto, its first in Canada. The location will be run by Mike Woollatt, hired in January as a principal in the fund investments and co-investments team. Woollatt joined from $97 billion Canadian pension fund OMERS, where he was a director, strategic partnerships, with OMERS Platform Investments. Prior to joining OMERS in 2018, Woollatt for four years led the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. Hamilton Lane’s opening of a Toronto office follows its selection for investment last year by Ottawa’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative.

Hotel booking platform Splitty nabs $6.75 mln Series A

Splitty, a hotel booking platform, has raised $6.75 million in Series A funding. Fosun RZ Capital, Fosun International's VC investment arm led the round. Other investors that participated in the funding were 2bAngels, Techstars Ventures, Cockpit Innovation and 11-11 Ventures.

Loeb.nyc invests in media and experiential events firm ACE Universe

New York-based ACE Universe, a media and experiential events company, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding. The investor was Loeb.nyc, the venture arm of Loeb Enterprises.

Mind Ventures leads Series A round for 3DSignals

3DSignals, an Israeli provider of acoustic-based analytics for industrial machines, has raised $12 million in Series A funding. Mind Ventures led the round.

TandemLaunch raises initial $23 mln for BDC-anchored Fund III

TandemLaunch has raised $23 million in the first close of its third company creation and seed-stage fund. TandemLaunch Ventures III, expected to wrap up by the summer of 2019, secured a lead commitment of $5 million from BDC Capital. Other limited partners included Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI), Harbor Street Ventures and more than 30 entrepreneurs and angel investors. Montréal-based TandemLaunch, founded in 2010 by General Partner and CEO Helge Seetzen, partners with global post-secondary institutions to launch synthetic startups in the consumer-electronics space. Fund III will support the creation of 20 new Canadian technology companies.

SHO Products acquires cannabis brands distributor Master Minded

Los Angeles-based SHO Products, a equipment and technology provider for solventless extraction equipment, has acquired Master Minded Distribution, a distributor of cannabis brands. No financial terms were disclosed. The acquisition follows SHO's recent announcement that it raised $3.6 million in Series A funding.

Venture-backed Milestone seeks up to $115 mln in Nasdaq IPO

Montréal-based cardiovascular drug maker Milestone Pharmaceuticals has filed a preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. The company is seeking up to $115 million (US$86 million) from an offering of common shares on the Nasdaq Global Market, the filing said. It intends to list under the symbol MIST. Founded in 2005, Milestone is the developer of etripamil, a nasal spray formulation of calcium channel blockers used to terminate episodes of transient cardiovascular conditions. Milestone has raised roughly $220 million in venture capital financing. This includes $105 million raised last year, led by RTW Investments .

BacklotCars picks up $25 mln Series B

BacklotCars, an online wholesale automotive marketplace, has secured $25 million in Series B funding. Stripes led the round with participation from other investors that included Origin Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Royal Street Ventures, KCRise Fund and Chaifetz Group.

Hatteras amasses $94 mln for sixth fund

Hatteras Venture Partners has raised $94 million for its sixth fund. The target is $200 million. The Durham, North Carolina-based venture firm makes seed and early-stage investments in health care.

Mogo to acquire tech investor Difference Capital Financial

Mogo Finance Technology Inc (TSX, Nasdaq: MOGO), a Vancouver-based online lender, has agreed to combine with Difference Capital Financial (DCF), a Canadian investor in late-stage technology companies. The deal will see each common share of Mogo exchanged for one DCF share. DCF currently holds a 23 percent stake in Mogo. It said the deal represents an equity value for Mogo of about $110 million. Following the combination, Mogo shareholders will own about 80 percent of the new entity, expected to be named Mogo Inc. Mogo said the new business will continue to execute on its "vision of building the leading fintech platform in Canada." It will assume control of DCF investments, including Hootsuite and Vision Critical.