Six Canadian tech companies have recently made deals by either acquiring others or being acquired themselves. Here’s a quick look at what’s happening with some of Canada’s key players.
Semios set to buy Ag Tech peer Agworld
Precision farming platform Semios from Vancouver revealed plans to acquire fellow Ag Tech firm Agworld. The Cambridge Chronicle reports the deal is worth more than $100 million.
Founded in 2010, Semios offers growers of tree fruits, nuts, and other permanent crops tools for real-time crop data and pest management. They use sensor networks along with data analytics and machine learning to help farmers reduce risks. Back in early 2020, Semios raised $100 million CAD from private equity investors led by Boston’s Morningside Group, then another $25 million in growth capital from CIBC Innovation Banking.
Agworld, based in Australia, provides a farm management platform driven by data that helps growers share field info with farmers, advisors, and others. Together these two companies serve customers across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South Africa. Semios says joining forces will create “one of the largest independent Ag Tech solutions providers worldwide.”
RELATED: Following $100 million raise, Semios nets $25 million from CIBC Innovation Banking
Michael Gilbert, CEO of Semios said “the true impact of our combined forces in the global agricultural industry will soon be realized through the increased velocity of our R& D efforts and getting new products to market, benefitting growers who are being tested by Mother Nature like never before.”
This marks Semios’ third buy this year after picking up Altrac and Centricity last June. These acquisitions fit into their plan to bring together different crop management tools into one easy-to-use dashboard.
Lone Wolf snaps up Propertybase real estate software
Lone Wolf Technologies from Cambridge Ontario has taken over Massachusetts-based Propertybase for an undisclosed sum.
Since 1989 Lone Wolf has positioned itself as “the North American leader in residential real estate software.” With nearly 650 employees they support over 1.5 million agents along with thousands of brokerages and MLS associations across Canada and the US. Their goal is creating a seamless digital platform for agents and brokers alike.
Propertybase provides real estate websites plus CRM and lead generation tools used by about 4,500 businesses and 250,000 users spanning more than 80 countries. Lone Wolf believes adding Propertybase strengthens their technology lineup while pushing forward on international growth.
Apart from Propertybase Lone Wolf also picked up four other tech firms within nine months-W+R Studios, Lion Desk, Home Spotter and Terradatum-allowing them to offer everything from marketing to transaction management services all under one roof.
Pluribus picks up Pathways Training & e Learning
Toronto-based Pluribus Technologies announced it acquired Pathways Training & e Learning but didn’t reveal financial details.
Started in 2018 Pluribus focuses on buying small profitable B2B software businesses. Recently they also bought Calgary’s ICOM Productions back in June plus San Francisco startup POWR last month.
Pathways started way back in 2006 designing learning tech like live-action video training plus gaming simulations alongside traditional corporate education stuff like change management.
“Pathways represents our fifth acquisition in the e Learning vertical and brings an impressive client base of Fortune 500 companies,” said Pluribus CEO Richard Adair. “As one of Canada’s leaders in the provision of gamified mobile learning and virtual reality enabled 360° video, we are excited to introduce these leading-edge offerings to the Pluribus customer base.”
Graph Blockchain buys Optimum Coin Analyser for $5M
Graph Blockchain out of Toronto has purchased Optimum Coin Analyser-a company specializing in AI-driven crypto coin analytics.
The deal involved Graph exchanging shares valued at $5 million total by issuing nearly 71.5 million units priced at seven cents each; each unit contains one common share plus a purchase warrant for Graph stock.
The firm launched back in ’82 focusing on giving investors exposure across decentralized finance areas through subsidiaries such as proof-of-stake miner Babbage Mining along with Beyond the Moon projects. It trades on the Canadian Stock Exchange under ticker ‘GBLC.’
Optimum uses cloud-based search engine subscriptions powered by AI that scans social media data related to cryptocurrency risks and chances for investment moves.
“Our stated objective with Optimum is [to] add data analysis for Graph to collect, cleanse and analyze unstructured data that can help manage our altcoin portfolio to make better decisions by pinpointing specific trends, risks and opportunities,” CEO Paul Haber explained.
Frenter expands with Rentbridge acquisition
The Halifax rental marketplace Frenter bought Calgary’s Rentbridge which also lets users rent gear like tools or electronics but terms weren’t disclosed publicly yet.
Entrevestor was first reporting Frenter wants Rentbridge’s user base as part of growing into new markets – both geographically but also vertically across categories they cover. Zach Laberge , founder /CEO at just age fifteen told Entrevestor it seemed smart since Rentbridge brought valuable listings , users , plus experienced staff skilled at launching operations city-by-city. Combined , both now cover seven cities so far.
“The reason we bought Rentbridge is because we’re currently mostly based on the East Coast of Canada,” Laberge said. “We want to be able expand into other cities across Canada *and* US.”
Crunchbase notes Frenter raised eighty thousand CAD angel funding last October. Laberge mentioned they’re raising a bigger pre-seed round ($450K) right now.
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Nest Ready joins Homebot through acquisition
Denver-based Homebot scooped up Montréal startup Nest Ready – price wasn’t shared publicly – saying it’ll boost its real estate buyer experience.
Founded in ’17 Nest Ready offers mortgage lenders an AI-powered home-buying platform providing fully white-labeled experiences embedded directly onto lender websites. Homebot itself dates back to ’15 offering mortgage lending & real estate tech solutions ; private equity firm ASG took them over back around 2020.
“Combining our home search platform , Nest Finder , with Homebot’s best-in-class client engagement platform will offer consumers a personalized home search experience while keeping them connected with their lender throughout their home-buying journey,” said Mauro Repacci , co-founder/CEO at Nest Ready.
Feature image from Semios
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