Red hot Canadian VC at $2.9B for first half of 2019

TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2019 /CNW/ - Canadian venture capital disbursements for the first half of 2019 set a torrid pace, with 264 financings completed totaling $2.9 billion, according to the Canadian Venture Capital Report by CPE Media Analytics, the data analytic service of CPE Media Inc. 

Led by Sonder Canada's $286 million blockbuster deal, large deals continued to play important role in the first half, 2019. 8 deals¹ of $50 million or more raised $910 million in aggregate, accounting for 30% of total disbursements.

US investors lead Canadian investors in funding Canadian venture-backed companies (CNW Group/CPE Media Inc.)

Canadian companies secured VC funding from 25 countries or overseas territories (CNW Group/CPE Media Inc.)

H1 2019 Disbursements

• Top five provinces: Ontario led all provinces and captured $1,484 million or 51% of the total disbursements. Driven by Sonder Canada financing, Quebec raised $751 million or (26%) while British Columbia raised $422 million (15%), Alberta raised $89 million (3%), and Nova Scotia raised $48 million (2%).
• Top five municipal cities: Toronto led with $928 million (32%) followed by $562 million raised by Montreal, $272 million by Vancouver, $142 million by Hamilton and $130 million by Kitchener. 44 Canadian cities attracted VC funding.
• Series B deals garnered largest Series-financing share with $809 million (28%), aside from the unclassified deals which raised $986 million or 34%.
• ICT and biotech companies raised $1,411 million (58%) and $652 million (23%) million respectively.

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^1	Does not include Carbon Engineering's $91million Series B which closed over 4 tranches over 2018 to 2019, and PDFTron Systems' $96 million investment by Silversmith Capital Partners which was a private equity deal with the acquisition leveraged with debt financing.

H1 2019 Funding sources

• Canadian companies secured funding from investors from 25 countries or overseas territories.
• US investors alone accounted for 47% of the total disbursements, comparing to 43% by Canadian investors and 10% by other foreign investors.
• Top five investor types: private VC funds invested $1,343 million (46%), followed by $559 million (19%) by Corporate, $272 million (9%) by Family Offices, and $183 million (6%) each by Government and Angels.
• US private VCs invested $899 million, accounting the largest investor type share of the total disbursement (31%). US private VCs led Canadian private VCs with a ratio of 2.39.

H1 2019 – USA and Foreign Investment Breakdowns

• Ontario attracted the largest share of US investments, raising $803 million from US investors, accounting for 59% of the total US investments or 28% of total Canadian disbursements.
• Western Canada, including BC and the Prairies, attracted the least amount of US and foreign investments, with 38% of the total amount coming from US and foreign sources.
• US and foreign investors dominated Series B and later rounds, investing 72% of the total amounts.

Other observations

• 39 funds raised $3.2 billion, of which $1.935 billion by 28 private VC funds.
• Top active VC law firms: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, LaBarge Weinstein LLP, Dentons Canada LLP

"Barring a total collapse in the second half, Canadian VC disbursements are on track to go past the $5 billion mark for the first time since 2000. As US and foreign investors continue to play a very important role in the Canadian VC ecosystem, CPE Media Analytics is proud to release the first ever analysis sorted by US and foreign investors.   Further detailed analyses can be performed from our sophisticated and advanced all financings database.  Contact us if you would like more granular information," said Ted Liu, President of CPE Media Inc. 

The full report can be downloaded from financings.ca website:
https://www.financings.ca/reports/

Financings.ca by CPE Media Analytics

CPE Media Analytics, a service of CPE Media Inc., through financings.ca, offers comprehensive data coverage and analysis on venture capital and private equity. We are Canada's only data provider that specifically tracks and provides analysis on investments by investor types and by funding sources. More information:  https://financings.ca

About CPE Media Inc.

CPE Media Inc. is Canada's all financing, private capital and public market, news and intelligence provider. We provide trusted, unbiased and verified, private and public market news and intelligence to all industry stakeholders. For more information: https://cpemedia.ca.

SOURCE CPE Media Inc.

For further information: Ted Liu, President, [e-mail], 647-782-8818