Q-News

December 2011

Private Equity - November 2011

Posted in Private Equity

Twelve private Canadian companies reported receiving capital during November with eight of the companies reporting a total of $179.25 million in new capital. Notably, more than 50% of that capital went to one company, a BC-based business that provides helicopter services.  These results are relatively similar to the nine deals and $152.4 million raised last November, but a significant improvement on the two deals and $2.4 million reported at this time in 2009.  Seven of the 12 companies raising money were based out of Ontario, two deals took place in each of Quebec and BC and a final transaction was announced by a Nova Scotia company.  Five of the 12 companies received at least part of their capital from US investors, while another two raised funds from European investors.  Eight of the private Canadian companies receiving capital operate in the ICT sector, while two are involved in cleantech. 



Financings of Canadian Companies

Vancouver-based Strangeloop Networks, which develops web content optimization software aimed at decreasing webpage loading times for website and enterprise applications, raised $10 million from a private investor group.  It was the company’s second round of financing.  The company’s first financing took place in mid-2007 and like the current round also came from private investors, who at that time injected over $10 million into the business.  

Scribble Technologies, a Toronto-based company whose live blogging platform is used by some of the world’s largest news agencies, raised $4 million in a financing with Summerhill Venture Partners and return investor Rogers Ventures, from whom the company raised an undisclosed sum in January of 2010.

Toronto’s Field ID, a company whose web-based software leverages RFID technology and mobile handheld devices to automate asset inspections for clients in the construction, energy, manufacturing, utilities, and other industries, raised an undisclosed amount of capital from the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Carpedia Capital and Banyan Capital Partners made an investment in G.W. Anglin Manufacturing, an Ontario-based commercial vehicle upfitter that customizes work vehicles for special applications.

Innovacorp invested $1 million in aioTV, a Nova Scotia company with US headquarters in Colorado.  aioTV has developed a web-based video platform that allows users to aggregate video from several sources, like the web and licensed content, and to view it on apple and android devices, PCs and GoogleTV, through a unified interface.  

US and International Activity in Canada

Connecticut-based First Reserve Corp committed to a $100 million investment in CHC Helicopter, a Vancouver-based helicopter services company that offers transportation, maintenance, as well as search-and-rescue services.

Paladin Capital Group (Washington D.C.), Horizons Ventures (Hong Kong), and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (CA) made a $23 million investment in Fixmo.  Fixmo was founded in Toronto but now lists its headquarters as Virginia.  This was the company’s third financing round.  The company had just raised $6.5 million as part of its second round financing in June, the investors in that round were Panorama Capital (CA), as well as Canada’s Extreme Venture Partners, Rho Ventures (NY), and iNovia Capital.

California’s Panorama Capital led a $36.6 million financing raise by Beyond the Rack, a Montreal-based online retailer specializing in women’s and men’s designer clothing. Export Development Canada, Tandem Expansion Fund, Rho Canada, and Inovia Capital also participated in the deal. The company’s most recent raise prior to this was a $3 million capital injection by MMV Financial in February 2011.

Boston’s Rockport Capital, together with Vancouver’s Chrysalix Venture Capital, provided an undisclosed amount of capital to Ottawa’s Gan Systems as part of the company’s first round financing.  Gan Systems manufactures power conversion semiconductors that replace silicon with competitively priced gallium nitride.

Andreesen Horowitz (CA) and Ycombinator (CA) invested in a $1.65 million round announced by Vidyard, a Waterloo-based company that has developed an ad free video marketing platform that includes analytics and other built in marketing tools. Vidyard had just participated in the Under the Radar conference, held in (Mountain View) California, earlier in November. The deal also included participation from Quebec’s Inovia Capital, and Jawed Karim, the co-founder of YouTube.

Czech-based Credo Ventures invested $3 million in Intellitix, which provides RFID access control and cashless payment systems used for live events.  Intellitix is headquartered in Montreal, but also has a European office in the UK.  

UK-based Zouk Capital made an investment in Ontario-based OZZ Electric, a service company that installs electrical systems for solar panels, building management systems and smart meters.

Canadian Investments Abroad

Blackberry Partners Fund was involved in a $6.1 million first round financing by Catalog Spree, a California company that has developed a free catalog shopping app for the iPad that integrates social networking into the shopping experience. El Dorado Ventures (CA) was the other fund involved in the raise.

Vancouver’s Yaletown Venture Partners opened an office in Seattle in order to further capitalize on the cleantech opportunities in that region. 

GlaxosmithKline, a UK-based pharmaceutical company has launched the $50 million GSK Canada Life Sciences Innovation Fund whose main objective will be to fund early-stage Canadian companies that specialize in life sciences research.  The fund will be managed by SR One, the venture capital arm of GlaxosmithKline.

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