brad meikle

A private equity fund of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Desjardins Capital de risque made investments totaling C$18.6 million in small businesses in Québec. This activity, which took place from May to September and involved a range of companies, including Fibres Serden, Inc., a Saint-Hyacinthe-based manufacturer of van-style trucks. Investments were made through Capital croissance PME, a fund formed by the Caisse and Desjardins in 2010.

Innovative Trauma Care, a Canada and San Antonio, Texas-based medical device startup, has closed on $3.64 million in Series A financing. The money will be used to commercialize its first product: the “ITClampTM Hemorrhage Control System,” the company said. Specifics of the round were not released.

Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, last week announced a significant expansion of its global cleantech investment network in a push for global reach.

Clarity Inc., a Moncton, New Brunswick-based company focused on technology to support entrepreneurial mentorship through calls and connections with business experts, has C$1.6 million from a group of Silicon Valley investors, according to a Dec. 4 report in the National Post. Clarity's founder and CEO is serial entrepreneur Dan Martell, a Moncton native. Clarity was founded in May 2012.

Montreal-based venture capital firm Real Ventures announced that its portfolio company Cinemagram Inc. has raised a Series A financing totaling $8.5 million. The deal was led by Menlo Ventures and joined by Khosla Ventures, Atlas Ventures and Real Ventures. Cinemagram enables users to create and share animated photos over mobile phones.

London, Ontario-based Red Jacket Private Equity plans to raise C$60 million for a new venture capital partnership to invest in innovative companies in the Waterloo region, according to The Record. The fund, which is named the Waterloo Tech Fund, will focus on companies based or incubated in Waterloo that already have finished products, customer traction, revenue and support from angel investors, The Record reports.

Espial Group Inc., a global supplier of digital TV and IPTV software and solutions, announced its acquisition of British software firm ANT plc. The deal, which has been estimated at C$8 million, is expected to close in early 2013. Ottawa-based Espial went public in 2007, but it has since received financing from Toronto venture capital firm Relay Ventures.

An overview of Canada’s Venture Capital Market in Q3 2012, produced by Thomson Reuters for Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association

Halifax, Nova Scotia-based LeadSift, a start-up that mines social media data to generate high-quality sales leads, has secured $500,000 in financing from OMERS Ventures. The money will go toward sales and marketing efforts, as well as continued product development.

MethylGene Inc., a Montreal-based biopharmaceuticals firm, announced the completion of a new financing totaling C$26.1 million. The investment was led by Tavistock Life Sciences, a company insider, and included OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Tang Capital Partners LP, RA Capital Management and BVF Partners LP .