CPE Media News (1/29/2019) – Whitecap Venture Partners has held a $110 million first close for its fourth fund, Whitecap IV fund.
Limited Partners (LPs) include returning investors Kensington Capital Partners and BMO Capital Partners, as well as Inuvialuit Investment Corporation and other new institutional investors and high-net-worth family offices.
Kensington Capital Partners, previously committed to Whitecap III through the VCAP fund of fund, Kensington Venture Fund. Its Whitecap IV commitment is likely from the VCCI fund of funds, Kensington Venture Fund II which held an $85 million initial close in December 2018. BMO is also an LP in Kensington Venture Fund II.
Whitecap IV will continue to primarily invest in Serie A in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Med Tech, and Food/Food Tech companies. A small portion of the fund will be dedicated to seed investments.
Whitecap IV will continue to be led by Managing Partner Carey Diamond with the management team consisting of recently promoted partners, Shayn Diamond and Russell Samuels, and former co-CEO of FieldEdge, Steve Lau, who has just joined as a new partner.
Joe Catalfamo, a Whitecap III partner, will join fund IV’s advisory board. Blaine Hobson, a Whitecap III partner and an LP in all four Whitecap funds, will chair Whitecap IV’s investment committee.
photo credit: Whitecap
News Release
Whitecap Venture Partners Holds First Close of $125MM Fourth Fund
Firm adds new partners to the leadership team; appoints new advisory board member
TORONTO – January 29, 2019 – Whitecap Venture Partners today announced the first close of Whitecap IV, with commitments of (Cdn) $110 million towards an ultimate fund size of $125 million. LPs in the new fund include returning investors Kensington Capital Partners and Bank of Montreal (BMO), along with Inuvialuit Investment Corporation and several other new institutional investors and high-net-worth family offices.
While Whitecap IV will continue to primarily invest in Series A funding rounds, the firm has established a small seed investment program within the new fund. As with its previous funds, Whitecap IV will focus on companies in industry sectors where the firm has built domain knowledge and has demonstrated success, including Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Med Tech, and Food/Food Tech. Geographically, the firm will continue to invest in companies within a day’s return trip from Toronto.
“Our model has not changed significantly over the past 25 years. We invest in a limited number of innovative companies and work closely with their senior leadership teams to build value. This has enabled us to deliver superior returns across our first three funds, while continuing to build a long-term, focused platform for venture capital in Canada,” said Carey Diamond, Managing Partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “We also continue to build out our leadership and advisory team of experienced investors and entrepreneurs to help ensure the continued success of our portfolio companies.”
Whitecap deployed its first venture funds in the early 1990s, establishing the firm as one of the longest standing venture investors in Canada. Whitecap III, which launched in April 2015, invested in eight companies, including Real Matters, Qvella, Affinio, Reunion Foods, Clearwater Clinical, ClassCraft, and Irystec.
Appointment of New Partners
Concurrent with the first close of Whitecap IV, the firm has grown its team of Partners. Steve Lau is the newest addition to the team, bringing to Whitecap a combination of investment and entrepreneurial experience. Most recently, Steve was co-CEO of FieldEdge, a leading field service management software provider that he grew more than 5x in three years and sold to Advent International. In 2018, he received an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award. Steve also spent several years with the CPP Investment Board where he completed $11B in private equity transactions. He is a graduate of the Wharton Business School’s MBA program.
“In addition to his success as an entrepreneur and investor, Steve’s core values align very closely with those of our existing team. This tremendous cultural fit will play an important role as he collaborates with the CEOs of our portfolio companies,” said Diamond.
Shayn Diamond and Russell Samuels joined the Whitecap team in January 2015. In recognition of the significant contributions and value they have added to Whitecap and its portfolio companies, both were recently promoted to Partner.
New Advisory Board Member
Andrew Macdonald, Vice President for Uber Americas Operations and Global Business Development, has joined the Whitecap Advisory Board alongside other exceptional entrepreneurs and business leaders. In addition to Andrew, Advisory Board members include Jason Smith, CEO of Real Matters; Bob Courteau, CEO of Altus Group and former president, North America, of SAP AG; Dr. Tino Alavie, CEO and co-founder of Qvella, a medical diagnostics company in which Whitecap is an investor; and, Joe Catalfamo, co-founder and co-managing partner of Summerhill Venture Partners and a Whitecap III partner.
About Whitecap Venture Partners
Whitecap Venture Partners is a diversified early stage venture capital fund investing in high growth companies across three verticals: Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Med Tech and Food/Food Tech. Its team of operators and investment professionals partner with entrepreneurs in verticals where they have deep domain expertise and can bring significant operational and strategic value to companies. Additional information is available at www.whitecapvp.com.
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Jodi Echakowitz
Boulevard Public Relations
C: 416-271-7250
E: jodi@boulevardpr.com