brad meikle
Canadian energy and power investor EnerTech Capital has named Étienne Veilleux to the firm's advisory board. Veilleux is founder, president and CEO of Distech Controls Inc, a Brossard, Québec-based provider of building automation and energy management solutions. The company, formerly a portfolio investment of Calgary-based EnerTech, was acquired in September by Acuity Brands Inc for $318 million. In May, PE Hub Canada interviewed Veilleux and EnerTech Managing Director Wally Hunter about the deal and the post-acquisition Distech.
Eventbase Technology Inc, a Canadian event app platform, has secured US$6 million in funding. The investment, which came from U.S. venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group, adds to Eventbase's $2 million Series A financing led by SXSW Tech in 2014. As a result of the latest investment, Madrona Managing Director Paul Goodrich will join the company's board of directors. Vancouver-based Eventbase said it will use the new money to develop its mobile technology and build on recent growth trends. In the past year, the business has doubled in size and revenue, primarily as a result of activity in the enterprise event app market, Eventbase reported.
EnerTech Capital has promoted Dean Sciorillo to the position of managing director. Calgary-based EnerTech, an investor in energy and power industries, also announced that Sciorillo will become a full general partner upon the closing of its new fund, EnerTech Capital Partners V. Sciorillo joined the firm in 2004 as an analyst and became a director last year. He previously worked for 15 years at Exelon Corp. Throughout the past year, EnerTech has been an active deal-maker, leading financings of Blue Pillar Inc and Terralux Inc, and exiting Distech Controls Inc.
Education software startup LlamaZOO Interactive Inc has received $500,000 in private equity investment. The source of the funding was not disclosed. Victoria, British Columbia-based LlamaZOO is currently developing a 3D interactive learning tool for veterinary students called EasyAnatomy. The company said it will use the investment to hire new staff, acquire new imagery, and work with students and design partners to test and refine the product. LlamaZOO was founded in 2014 by Chief Llama Charles Lavigne and Head Llama Kevin Oke.
Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc (TSX-V: SGB), which went public earlier this year, has agreed to acquire the TOPS Products Canada book of business for office products of Columbia Plastics Ltd. The deal will see Solegear issue 125,000 common shares to Columbia. Vancouver-based Solegear said the office products will be made using its proprietary plant-based bioplastic and are forecasted to generate up to 60,000 units of sales in 2016. In October, Solegear secured an investment from The Hillcore Group. It has previously received funding from Canadian venture capital firm Yaletown Venture Partners, Best Buy Capital and other investors.
Allocadia, a Canadian marketing performance management platform, has secured US$16.5 million ($22 million) in Series B financing. The round was led by U.S.-based Susquehanna Growth Equity and joined by existing investors iNovia Capital, Altos Ventures, Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien-Mattrick of Beehive Holdings, Illuminate Ventures, Don Mattrick, and Norm Francis of Boardwalk Ventures. Vancouver-based Allocadia currently serves more than 150 companies and thousands of users worldwide, and manages over $1 billion in its cloud software platform. It said it will use the new funds to accelerate product innovation, drive channel investments, expand its team, and advance other priorities.
New York-based marketing automation software provider Bluecore Inc has raised US$21 million in a Series B financing. Canadian growth equity firm Georgian Partners led the round, with participation from existing investors FirstMark Capital and Felicis Ventures. Founded in 2013, Bluecore, formerly known as TriggerMail, is focused on changing the way e-commerce marketers use data and automation to communicate with customers. Today, the company reports having more than 160 customers representing over 180 brands. Georgian Partners closed its second applied analytics fund at $200 million in April.
Wealthsimple Financial Inc has bought Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc, an automated investment manager. No financial terms were released. Wealthsimple, a Toronto-based online investment manager, said the acquisition creates the only automated investing service that administers an end-to-end investment experience for clients. Launched in 2014, Wealthsimple today manages over 10,000 clients and some $400 million in client assets. Earlier this year, it entered into a partnership with Power Financial Corp that will result in up to $30 million in funding. Wealthsimple is also backed by Impression Ventures and several angel investors.
A Canadian startup backed by one of BlackBerry's founders has unveiled a technology for tracking wireless signals that it says can be used for detecting intruders, managing crowds or finding victims of natural disasters, Reuters reported. Cognitive Systems Corp, backed by Mike Lazaridis' Quantum Valley Investments, said its Amera technology senses motion in physical space by detecting small changes in the wireless signals that invisibly connect smartphones and other devices to broader networks.
TIMIA Capital Corp, previously known as GreenAngel Energy Corp, has sold its equity position in dPoint Technologies Inc, a Canadian developer of membranes and heat and humidity exchangers for energy recovery in buildings. TIMIA will realize proceeds of about $1.03 million with the recent acquisition of dPoint by Switzerland's Zehnder Group AG. Based in Vancouver, TIMIA is a provider of financing to Canadian technology companies in exchange for a royalty on revenue.