longmia@halifax.ca
Isaac Souweine has joined Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Real Ventures as an entrepreneur-in-residence. He will operate from Montréal. Souweine has in recent years served in a number of entrepreneurial roles, including as director of product management at Frank & Oak, an online menswear retailer, between 2013 and 2015. He subsequently assumed a comparable position at Flatbook, a hospitality technology platform. In August 2015, Montréal-based Real Ventures raised $89 million for its third fund, Real Ventures III.
Canadian merger and acquisition (M&A) activity at home and abroad in the second quarter of 2016 reached its highest level since Q3 2014, despite a substantial drop in deal values, Crosbie & Co reported. Figures developed from Capital IQ and other sources showed 709 deals capturing $47.9 billion in Q2 2016, compared to 652 deals worth $75 billion a year ago. Domestic M&A activity saw year-over-year gains in both volume and dollars invested between April and June, with 482 deals valued at $19.8 billion. Crosbie said the overall increase in M&A transactions was driven in resource sectors, which are experiencing the effects of more stable commodity prices.
Canadian cinematic virtual reality (VR) producer Félix & Paul Studios has secured about $8.7 million (US$6.8 million) in a Series A financing. Comcast Ventures, an affiliate of U.S. media business Comcast Corp, led the round. It was joined by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, LDV Partners and Phi Group. With the deal, Comcast Ventures' Michael Yang will join the company's board. Founded in 2013, Montréal-based Félix & Paul has developed a platform for live-action VR filming and post-production. It will use the funds raised to grow its team and production capacity, enhance its VR cameras and software suite, and expand its presence in global markets.
Canadian real estate technology platform Real Matters Inc has secured an additional $100 million in a private placement deal and equity issue. The raise values the company at $653 million. The investors were not disclosed; however, Urbana Corp (TSX: URB, URB.A) has subsequently announced an increased investment in the company. Backers of prior Real Matters' rounds include Whitecap Venture Partners, Radar Capital and Wellington Financial. Markham, Ontario-based Real Matters also announced that an affiliate of the company has bought U.S.-based title search specialist Linear Title & Closing Ltd for up to US$96 million. With the acquisition, Real Matters reports it generates 95 percent of its revenue in the United States.
Averna has acquired Belgium's Test & Measurement Solutions Group (T&M Solutions), a provider of technology solutions for the quality control of diverse products and production processes. No financial terms were released. Averna’s primary investors, Tandem Expansion Fund and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), contributed to the deal's financing. Montréal-based Averna, a developer of test solutions and services for communications and electronics device makers, said the acquisition represents a major expansion by the company into the European market. Last April, Tandem, a Canadian late-stage venture capital firm, bought a majority stake in Averna.
Mama Earth Organics, a direct-to-home organic food delivery company in the Greater Toronto Area, has secured undisclosed funding from Canadian investors InvestEco Capital and Renewal Funds. As part of the deal, Mama Earth will be combined with Farms & Forks, a direct-to-home organic food retailer that also serves the Toronto region. As of June, Farms & Forks CEO Michael Bernstein will lead the combined business, which will operate under the Mama Earth banner. InvestEco, a Toronto-based investor in the sustainable food and agriculture sectors, will name a director to the new company's board, as will Renewal Funds, a Vancouver-based mission venture capital firm.