Q-News

June 2008

And then there were ?????

Posted in Mike's Commentary

June represented an upswing in venture capital investments with 16 companies reporting raising $143.4 million compared to the 16 companies that reported raising $71.5 million in May and the 8 companies that reported raising $58.8 million in June 2007.  Unfortunately, technology companies only accounted for 6 of the transactions for a total of $27 million.

 

On the funds side, the meltdown in the Canadian Venture Capital industry continues.  This month alone we received news that: RoyNat was looking for “strategic alternatives” for their $30 million venture portfolio and were no longer seeking venture investments; VenturesWest, most likely as the result of challenges in raising their ninth fund, took initial downsizing steps that saw the departure of a number of their staff; highly respected Andrew Waitman departed from Celtic House Venture Partners in Ottawa; and Marc Faucher departed Summerhill Venture Partners to join JLA Ventures to drive their investment efforts in the new BlackBerry Partners Fund.   

 

As the Canadian venture industry approaches the precipice, one has to wonder what the future holds for private Canadian technology companies looking for growth capital.  While a number of funds have indicated that they are out looking to raise their next round, with the exception of the Blackberry Partners Fund and the Ontario Venture Capital Fund (see last month’s comment), we’ve seen no positive news.  Without a doubt this rocky ride is far from over and it’s difficult to predict what positive events could take place over the next 18 to 24 months that will turn this thing around.

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