Kirk Falconer
Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company Knight Therapeutics Inc (TSX: GUD) has agreed to commit EUR 19.5 million ($27.5 million) to the third life sciences fund managed by Dutch venture capital firm Forbion Capital Partners. The commitment, which follows an earlier commitment to a life sciences fund managed by Sectoral Asset Management, expands Knight's product sourcing strategy for the Canadian market, the company said. Knight plans to commit up to $130 million to this strategy. Forbion this month announced a first close of Forbion Capital Fund III CV at EUR 92 million ($129.6 million).
Agrisoma Biosciences Inc has secured $8 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Canadian clean technology venture capital firm Cycle Capital Management and was joined by BDC Capital, which has invested in the company since 2002. An agricultural technology company, the Gatineau, Québec-based Agrisoma has commercialized carinata, a non-food oilseed crop designed for the sustainable production of biofuels. It plans to use proceeds of the latest round to promote further commercialization and expand into new areas of production. As a result of the deal, Cycle founder and managing partner Andrée-Lise Méthothas joined Agrisoma's board of directors.
When Ryan Holmes founded Hootsuite Media in 2008, he had two key objectives in mind. He wanted his startup to be a leading driver of social media innovation on a global scale. He also wanted to build it into a billion-dollar company that would stay true to its Canadian roots. Holmes and Hootsuite have made significant progress on both counts. This week, the company announced it has closed a US$60 million follow-on financing, which brings its total raise of venture capital since 2009 to a whopping US$250 million.
With $60 million in new capital and another acquisition, Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes predicts company will double its revenue in next 12 months, cites "a lot of interest in an IPO."
Businesses and governments everywhere are being forced to grapple with escalating, stealthy and increasingly destructive cyber-attacks. One Canadian startup believes it has a solution. This week, Cambridge, Ontario-based eSentire, which has developed an active threat detection platform popular with hedge funds, secured a $14 million Series C financing from a consortium of Canadian and U.S. venture capital firms and strategic investors to promote further growth and customer diversification.
Wealthsimple has officially launched with the support of startup funding. The company's CEO and founder Michael Katchen confirmed to peHUB Canada that the company has raised $1.9 million from Joe Canavan, Roger Martin, David Ossip, Dan Debow and Canadian venture capital firm Impression Ventures. Based in Toronto, Wealthsimple provides low-cost, technology-driven investment strategies and personalized service to investors in Canada. Impression Ventures, which is led by Bryan Kerdman and Christian Lassonde, is focused on investing in software companies in e-commerce, financial applications, SaaS, consumer applications and enterprise solutions.
BLiNQ Networks Inc has secured US$15.1 million in a Series B financing round. This latest round, which brings the company's total funding to date to US$32.5 million, was led by WIN Fund LP and joined by new investor Kensington Global Private Equity Fund and existing investors BDC Capital, New Venture Partners and Summerhill Venture Partners. Investment proceeds will be used to continue BLiNQ's product innovation, scale operations and accelerate global sales growth. With its headquarters in Ottawa and Plano, Texas, BLiNQ is a provider of wireless backhaul solutions that allow mobile operators to deliver mobile broadband services in high density areas. It was founded in June 2010.
Canadian growth finance firm Beedie Capital Partners has agreed to extend $3.5 million in a secured term loan to Nightingale Informatix Corp (TSX-V: NGH), a provider of cloud-based electronic health record and practice management services to North American healthcare organizations. Funding proceeds will support the company in its efforts to launch a next generation platform, Nightingale EHR, and for other purposes. Based in Markham, Ontario, Nightingale also has been backed by Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial and Export Development Canada. A Wellington-led deal in 2007 facilitated the company's acquisition of VantageMed Corp.
John Ruffolo, CEO of OMERS Ventures, the venture investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, has been selected for the top spot of Canadian Business magazine's 50 most powerful business people. The magazine said that Ruffolo's launch of OMERS Ventures in 2011 has provided "a fix to Canada’s chronic lack of VC," which is something that should matter "as much to Bay Street as it does to entrepreneurs."
FreshGrade has secured $4.3 million in seed-stage financing. The backers of the round were a mix of U.S. venture capital firms and education investors, including NewSchools Venture Fund, Emerson Collective, Accel Partners and The Social+Capital Partnership. Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, the company is an educational resource for administrators, teachers and parents allowing for maximum classroom engagement and real-time assessment. Update: FreshGrade was founded in 2011 by Lane Merrifield, Steve Wandler and Mark Payne.