brad meikle
U.S. technology and web solutions provider New Signature has purchased CMS Consulting Inc and Infrastructure Guardian, which are affiliated businesses based in Toronto. The value of the acquisition was not released. New Signature, which has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., said the deal will help continue its strategic expansion of cloud technologies and managed services capabilities and North American market coverage. In April, the company secured US$35 million from U.S. venture capital firm Columbia Capital to support its organic and acquisition-led growth.
The federal government's immigrant entrepreneur program, Start-Up Visa, has helped launch eight new Canadian companies since the program was introduced two years ago. To date, 16 principal applicants have been approved for permanent residency. Ottawa says there are now about 60 applications at various stages of the process. New residents include U.K.-born Nick Back, who formed Physicool Canada with Canadian business partner Dr. Joe Chiodo, as well as Shankar Raventhiran, Anand Suriyanarayana Raja and Jaishankar Rajagopal, all originally from India, who are launching Green Anthem Foods.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has created Espace CDPQ, a hub focused on the innovation and globalization of Québec businesses. Based in Montréal, Espace CDPQ will provide opportunities for strategic collaboration for companies from all sectors and at all stages of development. It will also provide coaching and support services to entrepreneurs, as well as a range of financing options. With regard to the latter, the Caisse said it will undertake a new investment initiative of $50 million to develop the most promising ideas and startups that emerge from Espace CDPQ. Additionally, angel network Anges Québec will have an operational presence in the hub.
Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital announced that three of its Canadian portfolio companies have raised more than US$50 million in follow-on financings during the first half of 2015. The companies were Enbala Power Networks, a provider of distributed energy resource management solutions; GaN Systems, a developer of gallium nitride power switching semiconductors, and; General Fusion, a commercial fusion energy technology platform. Based in Vancouver, Chrysalix is a sustainable innovation and alternative energy venture capital firm. As reported by peHUB Canada in March, the first close of Chrysalix Energy LP IV is expected to occur in mid-2015.
Canadian specialty tea retailer DavidsTea, whose backers include U.S. growth investor Highland Consumer Partners, has set the terms of its much anticipated initial public offering. This week, the Montréal-based company announced plans to sell up to 5.86 million shares on Nasdaq, which could generate as much as US$94 million in proceeds.
Canadian payments software startup Payfirma Corp has raised $13 million in its first institutional funding round and is considering an initial public offering in 2016, its chief executive officer told Reuters. Led by Dundee Capital Markets, Payfirma's financing included several of Canada's top institutional fund managers, Gokturk said. The deal takes its total funding to over $26 million to date.
A new study by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has found that high-impact companies contribute disproportionately to the economy and can play a vital role in improving Canada's competitiveness. Defined as mid-sized organizations with 100 to 500 employees, high-impact companies reflect roughly 5 percent of all small businesses and are located in all sectors. The study found that they currently encounter challenges in the areas of management skills, market access, financing and labour shortages. BDC will work to help address these challenges through its newly created division, BDC Advantage, which offers a range of non-financial services to entrepreneurs.
Canadian impact venture capital firm Renewal Funds has made a $5 million equity investment in Cascadia Windows and Doors, a maker of energy efficient windows, doors, and other building envelope products. Cascadia, which is based in Langley, British Columbia, said the financing supports the launch of new technologies, geographic expansion, and continued growth. Founded in 2008, the company is led by President Kevin Ganzert and Vice President Operations Mike Battistel. Renewal Funds' investment in Cascadia follows its financing in April of OptiRTC, a U.S. stormwater control and rainwater harvesting technology company.
Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), a retail fund managed by Canadian private equity firm Desjardins Capital de risque, has received share reservations totaling $127 million from close to 44,000 individual investors. A total of $150 million is available for tax-supported subscription in the current fundraising period. Since 2002, CRCD has made commitments totaling $1.7 billion in 750 Québec companies. Among its recent transactions, the fund led an investment in Congebec Logistic Inc, a provider of refrigerated services headquartered in Québec City.
The federal Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) pilot program, announced in December 2014, has reopened for applications for the period May 25 to December 20, 2015. The program, which invites skilled and wealthy business immigrants to contribute to an IIVC fund that will invest in high-growth technology companies based in Canada, was previously open for applications earlier this year. Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the first 60 applications received, and place the next 60 on a waiting list. The IIVC fund will be managed by BDC Capital and is expected to raise $100 million or more in commitments.