Q2 2017 VC & PE Activity: CVCA Data Sneak Peak

Venture capital activity in Canada continues to hum along at a steadily increasing pace. Based on preliminary data sourced from CVCA InfoBase, $1.6B was disbursed over 260 deals in H12017, which is almost equal to the pace for the same time last year.

The top 10 VC deals in H1 totaled $665M — 40% of total deal value in the period. This is a high-water share mark as the top 10 deals amounted to 31% of deal value in 2016, 23% in 2015, 25% in 2014 and 34% in 2013. Montreal-based startup Element AImade headlines in May with its $141M Series A financing, which included participation from CVCA members Real Ventures and BDC Capital.

PE activity in Canada has been steadily improving over the last three quarters with $6.8B disbursed over 167 deals in Q22017, a 37% increase from the $5B in Q1 and double the $3.4B from the same quarter last year.

The top 10 PE deals in H1 totaled $8.3B — 70% of total deal value in the period. This is a high-water share mark as the top 10 deals amounted to 60% of deal value in 2016, 54% in 2015, 63% in 2014 and 58% in 2013. The largest YTD deals included the $2.7B mega deal by Vista Equity Partners taking TSX-listed DH Corporation private, as well as last quarter’s $2.2B buyout of Garda World Security Corp. by Rhône Group from Apax Partners.

Stay tuned for the full H12017 VC & PE Canadian Market Overview to be published in late August.

The CVCA would like to thank the following investors for participating in its Q22017 survey and from which this preliminary data is derived. If you would like to participate, please contact dpinto@​cvca.​ca for details.