Kirk Falconer
Reebee, a Kitchener, Ontario-based retail technology company, has secured undisclosed financing led by RHI Group, a Canadian digital marketing investment firm. M33 Growth, a U.S. venture capital and growth equity firm, also invested. Founded in 2012 by Tobiasz Dankiewicz and Michal Martyniak, reebee provides brick-and-mortar retailers with an interactive, online marketing platform that helps them reach shoppers. The platform has so far engaged some 5 million users. The funds raised will help accelerate reebee’s growth strategy. RHI Group, led by Executive Directors Alex Moorhead and Brian Sinclair, was recently capitalized by M33 Growth.
SalonScale Technology, a Saskatoon-based mobile app for the hair salon industry, has closed its seed-stage financing, raising more than $1 million. The round's Canadian and U.S. investors included Conexus Venture Capital Fund, a recently launched $30 million fund focused on Saskatchewan's startup ecosystem. Founded last year by CEO Alicia Soulier, SalonScale provides an app, paired with a Bluetooth scale and web dashboard, to help salons manage the costs and usage of hair colouring. The company will use the financing's proceeds to grow its operations in North America and worldwide.
DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP) has acquired a majority stake in Cefaly Technology SPRL, a Liège, Belgium-based maker and marketer of neuro-modulating medical devices for the prevention and treatment of migraines. No financial terms were disclosed. Pierre Rigaux, who co-founded Cefaly in 2004, said the partnership with DWHP will facilitate the company's next stage of growth. With the deal, Jen Trainor was appointed CEO, replacing Rigaux. DWHP, a Toronto- and Park City, Utah-based healthcare private equity firm, said Cefaly is the inaugural investment of DW Healthcare Partners Fund V, which earlier this year raised US$610 million.
Pestell Group has acquired Winnipeg-based Pro-Ag Products and Verus Animal Nutrition, which together provide feed ingredients, feed additives and animal nutrition products in the North American market. Terms weren't disclosed. Antares Capital, BMO Sponsor Finance and PennantPark led the debt financing. Based in New Hamburg, Ontario, Pestell is an animal feed minerals and ingredients distributor, animal litter and bedding products maker, and dental pet treats co-maker. It said the acquisition expands its geographic presence in Western Canada and product portfolio. Pestell was acquired last year by U.S. mid-market private equity firm Wind Point Partners.
Canadian Tire Corp Ltd (TSX: CTC, CTC.A) has agreed to acquire the Canadian business of Party City, a Rockaway, New Jersey-based specialty party goods retailer. Canadian Tire agreed to pay $174.4 million for the business, which has 65 retail stores in seven provinces. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2019. Canadian Tire, a Toronto-based provider of retail goods and services, said the purchase will make it a one-stop shopping destination for party and celebration needs. It plans to expand Party City's store network in Canada. Party City was acquired in 2012 by U.S. private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners (THL) for US$2.69 billion. The company went public in 2015, with THL remaining a shareholder.
Canadian private equity firm Equicapita has acquired a 70 percent interest in Wingenback Inc, a Calgary-based industrial and commercial logistics business, for an undisclosed amount. The deal, which will support the company's growth, saw Equicapita partner with Wayne Wingenbach, who will remain as president, and the management team. Established in 1975, Wingenback provides businesses and organizations in Canada with solutions in ATM-related products, industrial moving and project management services. It has customers in a range of industries, including financial services. The acquisition is Equicapita’s twelfth to date and its first in the industrial and commercial logistics space.
CIBC Innovation Banking has provided undisclosed debt financing to Bridgit, a Kitchener, Ontario-based construction software provider. The funding came alongside Bridgit's Series A round. This year, the company was reported to be negotiating debt financing that would increase its latest round to $7.75 million. CIBC Innovation Banking said the proceeds will support the launch of a new product, Bridgit Bench, a resource planning platform for general contractors. Founded in 2014 by CEO Mallorie Brodie and COO Lauren Lake, Bridgit provides end-to-end productivity and performance solutions for construction operations managers and their teams.
Bayer AG has agreed to acquire BlueRock Therapeutics, a Toronto- and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based developer of engineered cell therapies. The deal values BlueRock at about $1.3 billion (US$1 billion), including the 40.8 percent stake currently held by Bayer. In 2016, Bayer partnered with U.S. life sciences venture capital firm Versant Ventures in founding BlueRock with a US$225 million financing. Bayer said it will pay US$240 million for the remaining stake at closing and US$360 million more when development milestones are met. BlueRock's portfolio is focused on neurology, cardiology and immunology, with a first clinical program in Parkinson's disease expected later this year.
Montrose Environmental Group Inc has agreed to acquire Lehder Environmental Services Ltd, a Point Edward, Ontario-based air quality management company, for an undisclosed amount. Formed in 1995, Lehder specializes in all aspects of air quality management, including source testing, emission inventories, air dispersion modelling, data analysis and approval applications. It serves the refining, petrochemical, energy and manufacturing sectors. Montrose, an Irvine, California-based environmental services company, said the deal will expand its global reach and provide additional capabilities to its customers. Last year, Montrose secured an investment from Oaktree Capital Management.
Canada’s venture capital market sustained robust levels of activity in Q2, despite somewhat fewer dollars going into the largest financings. The top 10 second-quarter rounds secured $522 million from VC funds. That’s down 4 percent from the $542 million raised by the top 10 deals a year earlier, and down 16 percent from the $625 million that went to the top deals in Q2 2017. The estimate is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest financings announced from April through June, supplemented by preliminary data from Refinitiv. It indicates some moderation in the influence of big late-stage rounds, which dominated Canadian VC trends last year.