brad meikle
Askuity Inc, a Canadian retail analytics software provider, has secured $2 million in a Series A financing. The investors included dunnhumby Ventures, the venture investment arm of dunnhumby, a U.K.-based customer science business, and a number of angel investors. The investment follows the company's $1.8 million seed-stage round of May 2014, backed by dunnhumby and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, among others. Toronto-based Askuity has developed technology that enables brands and product suppliers to turn retail data into better sales, marketing and supply outcomes. It said the new funds will help accelerate sales and marketing in new and existing markets.
MMB Networks, a Canadian Internet-of-Things solutions provider, has secured $7 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Canadian venture capital firm Roadmap Capital, and was joined by the company's existing backers, Arctern Ventures and VentureLink Funds. NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch semiconductors manufacturer, also participated as a strategic investor. Founded in 2008, Toronto-based MMB has developed an embedded software platform that enables connected devices. It said it plans to use the funds to expand the company's customer base, product portfolio and global presence. MMB also agreed to co-develop a suite of NXP silicon-based hardware products.
Lawyers expect cross-border deals to again drive Canadian merger and acquisition activity in 2016 after aggressive moves by Canadian companies spurred a major surge in M&A transactions last year, Reuters reported. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt topped the list of law firms that advised on M&A deals involving Canadian entities in 2015, followed closely by its Canadian rivals McCarthy Tétrault and Torys, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Canadian department store operator Hudson's Bay Co (TSX: HBC) has agreed to acquire Gilt Groupe Holdings Inc, an online shopping destination based in New York. HBC agreed to pay US$250 million in cash in a deal that is expected to close by February 1st. The acquisition is expected to contribute about US$500 million to HBC’s total 2016 sales and provide opportunities for the company to accelerate the growth of its digital platform. Founded in 2007, Gilt has raised US$271 million in venture capital funding, according to Thomson Reuters' data. Its investors include General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs, NEA and SoftBank. HBC has been backed by NRDC Equity Partners since 2008.
Investors in Cleantech Capital Inc (TSX-V: YES.P) will vote on its proposed merger with CHAR Technologies Inc, a Mississauga, Ontario-based renewable energy platform, on January 11th. If approved, the previously announced deal will make CHAR eligible for a commitment from Sustainable Development Technology Canada and give it $950,000 in investment. It will also result in a private placement offering of $2.5 million. Andrew White, president and CEO of CHAR, said the funding will bring the company into full commercial production, "allowing us to rapidly penetrate the growing $2 billion renewable natural gas desulfurization market.”
The Canadian government has unveiled a new $50 million program to help Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises take advantage of global export opportunities. The program, CanExport, will provide technology and traditional small businesses with matching contributions of between $10,000 and $100,000 to assist with export development costs. Eligible companies must have fewer than 250 employees and annual revenue in Canada of between $200,000 and $50 million.
Canadian growth equity firm XPND Capital has hired Eric Albert as its vice-president, investments, effective immediately. Albert, a business executive and investor, most recently worked as executive vice president at Stingray Digital Group Inc, a Canadian multi-platform music service provider that went public last June. In his new role at XPND, Albert will participate in all aspects of investment activity and help support companies entering the portfolio. Montréal-based XPND is currently marketing its second fund, XPNDCroissance Fund, which has so far raised $52 million of its $70 million target.
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ has reported comprehensive income totaling $112 million for the six-month period ended November 30, 2015, which contributed to a 12-month return of 7.1 percent. Net assets managed by the Fonds also rose to $11.2 billion. The Fonds reported investing $324 million throughout Québec during the six-month period. Activity included the $186 million acquisition of Manac Inc, a Saint Georges, Québec-based specialty trailers manufacturer. The Fonds also led the $9 million Series A funding of NoviFlow Inc, a Montréal-based networking technology startup.
Halifax, Nova Scotia-based Athletigen Technologies Inc, a sports genetics technology company, has secured $1.55 million in seed-stage financing. Exponential Partners, a U.S. venture capital firm, led the round. In addition to the funding, Pat Wilkison of Exponential Partners, has been named to the company's board of directors. Founded in 2014, Athletigen said it planned to use the investment's proceeds to support the growth of its Athletigen Performance Platform, a tool used by athletes, including those preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kik Interactive Inc has bought Blynk, the developer of mobile fashion app BlynkStyle. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Toronto, Blynk was founded in December 2013 by CEO Jaclyn Ling and CTO Shums Kassam to help people obtain quality fashion advice and recommendations. Kik, a mobile messaging platform, said the deal will help it "further delve into the world of bots and personal chat assistants." In August, Waterloo-based Kik secured US$50 million from China's Tencent Holdings. The round added to company's $38.3 million Series C funding led by Valiant Capital Partners in November 2014.