brad meikle
Real Ventures recently signaled a new direction for the six year-old venture capital firm – a direction that will soon be made manifest by the first close of its third, $100 million partnership, Real Ventures III, peHUB Canada has exclusively learned.The fund’s launch will cap what has been an exceptionally active period for the Montréal-based Real Ventures, one of Canada’s foremost early-stage IT and Internet-focused investment specialists, and the most active private investors in domestic seed-stage and startup financings in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters.
Clementia Pharmaceuticals Inc has raised $22.5 million in a Series A financing round. OrbiMed Advisors led the round with participation from return backer BDC Venture Capital. Clementia has also agreed to acquire the global rights to palovarotene, a retinoic acid receptor gamma agonist from Roche Pharmaceuticals. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Dorval, Québec, Clementia Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a treatment for fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. Update: The company, which was founded in 2010, secured its seed funding in 2012.
Digital conference and trade show Dx3 and venture-backed startup accelerator Extreme Startups have launched The Extreme Startups Acceleration Zone @ Dx3, a partnership focused on putting digital product companies "in front of brands eager to be at the forefront of global digital marketing and commerce innovation." The partnership, geared to Dx3's and Extreme Startups' programs in 2014, will give Canadian digital companies opportunities for showcasing, networking, support and funding by interested investors. Investors in selected startups may include Extreme Startups, the Ontario Centres of Excellence and BDC Venture Capital.
Paul Kirkconnell, the former executive vice president of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), has joined merchant banking services firm Kirchner Group. Kirkconnell, who also has been managing director of healthcare funds at the Drug Royalty Corp, will be active in all aspects of Kirchner's client services, including operational diagnostics, advisory, transition management, deal management and asset management. While at BDC, Kirkconnell was responsible for its venture capital business, including both direct technology investing and fund-of-funds activity.
The most recent Forbes' 30 Under 30 list points to the youthful energy that is currently powering many venture-backed technology startups. Among those recognized are several notable Canadian company founders, entrepreneurs and investors. Examples include Vancouver's Brian Wong, the founder and CEO of San Francisco-based mobile rewards network Kiip, Eric Migicovsky, the University of Waterloo engineering graduate who launched smart-watch maker Pebble Technology , and Ted Livingston, who helped found Waterloo, Ont.-based KiK Interactive, a developer of mobile messaging applications for smartphones.
Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec FTQ reported a tenth consecutive increase in its share value, which now stands at $29.21. It also reported a gross 7.4% return for the 12-month period of December 1, 2012 to November 30, 2013. Assets managed by the Montréal-based Fonds de solidarité FTQ consequently rose to $9.7 billion in total. Last November, the fund's president and CEO Yvon Bolduc presented a $2 billion proposal to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance intended to retain the federal tax credit for labour-sponsored venture capital funds, which is scheduled for phase-out by 2017.
TIO Networks Corp (TSX-V: TNC), which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia and backed by U.S. venture and growth capital firm Inter-Atlantic Group, has closed its buy of Globex Financial Services Inc and its operating business Global Express Money Orders Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. Globex Financial Services is a provider of expedited bill payment services. Update: TIO Networks is an information technology company focused on processing bill payment transactions through a secure Internet-enabled platform. The company has been backed by Inter-Atlantic Group since 2008. The Globex acquisition was funded in part by an investment made last year by Core Innovation Capital.
Canadian buyout, mezzanine and related PE funds appear to be on course to raise a record $16 billion-plus in 2013. It would be nice to report similar growth in the pool managed by Canada’s venture capital industry. While 2013 saw improved levels of VC investment activity, including some truly major company financings – Enerkem, HootSuite and Shopify, to name only some of the largest – it was not a stellar year for raising funds.
U.S. venture capital professionals and CEOs of VC-backed companies expressed "greater optimism, confidence and measured concern" about market prospects in 2014, according to a survey conducted by the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones’ DJX VentureSource. Survey respondents said that next year will bring improvements in several areas, including increased deal-making in IT sectors, greater IPO volume for venture-backed companies, and better returns to LPs. However, respondents were less optimistic about improvements in other areas, such as fundraising activity. Both CEOs and VCs are also skeptical that the federal government can pass legislation to address several issues critical to the startup ecosystem.
Avigilon Corp (TSX: AVO), a provider of high-definition and megapixel surveillance solutions, has agreed to acquire Billerica, Mass.-based video analytics specialist VideoIQ Inc for US$32 million in cash. Avigilon said the transaction, which is expected to close in early 2014, will allow it to expand high-definition surveillance solutions to include robust analytics capabilities. The Vancouver-based Avigilon is a portfolio investment of British Columbia Discovery Fund (VCC), a retail venture capital fund managed by Discovery Capital Management Corp. Last year, the company acquired Sterling, Va.-based RedCloud Security Inc for $17 million.