Q1 2018 VC & PE Activity: CVCA Data Sneak Peek
The CVCA will be publishing its final Q12018VC & PE Canadian Market Overviews later this month. According to preliminary Q12018 CVCA data (as of May 9, 2018), Canadian venture capital activity is just ahead of the same quarter last year. $690M was invested over 139 deals this quarter compared to $649M over 137 deals in Q1 2017.
Darrell Pinto, CVCA Research Director, elaborated “If you have paid attention to previous exuberant reporting of a $1M+ quarter from other data vendors, some of you will be scratching your head about our lower preliminary total; the discrepancy underlines an emphatic reality about the subjective reporting in this asset class. One of the most material explanations underlying this discrepancy is the timing of the $280M round in Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. which, according to two of our CVCA member firms involved in the syndicate, closed in Q42017 although it was only publicly announced in Q1. In our constant striving for accurate reporting, we therefore restated our Q42017 VC dollars invested from $739M to $1.1B.”
Momentum in Canadian private equity activity continues to build on last year’s rebound. $6.8B was invested over 137 deals this quarter, up 27% from the $5.3B invested over 113 deals in the same quarter last year. A single mega-deal accounted for almost three quarters of that total: OMERS PE sold Ontario-based Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd in secondary buyout deal worth $5B.
The CVCA thanks the following firms who participated in the Q12018 survey:
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