We recently reported that clients of Emergence had celebrated a year of “unprecedented exits, acquisitions and investments”. You can read that (very good news) story here!
In that, we focused on the success of clients such as:
- Animal Ethics (Pty) Ltd., which closed an $18.2 million investment from UK-listed Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC in exchange for a 33% stake and a global license to sell the company’s lead product, Tri-Solfen, internationally.
- Nautilus Biosciences Canada Inc., a marine biotechnology company, which was acquired by Croda International Plc, a listed UK company that creates, makes and sells specialty chemicals.
- Canada’s Island Garden, a licensed medical marijuana producer, which was acquired by North Carolina-based tobacco leaf merchant, Alliance One International Inc., which purchased a majority stake in the company.
- Dosecann Inc. which was acquired by Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. of Vancouver for $38 million.
Over and above these four clients, three other Emergence clients publicly announced successful raises, including:
- Stepscan – which successfully raised investment from Saint John, New Brunswick-based angel investor group, East Valley Ventures.
- Island Water Technologies – which closed a $500,000 round from Island Capital Partnersand Natural Products Canada.
- Mazza Innovation Ltd. – which announced that it had raised $3 million from existing and new shareholders to fund an expansion of operations at its PhytoClean™ extraction facility.
In addition, the balance of the Emergence portfolio reported attracting an additional $29 million in private sector follow-on funding over the last year.
Well – now Mazza Innovation Ltd. has also been acquired! You can read that full story here!
Delta, BC-based Mazza Innovation Limited. has been acquired by Sensient Technologies, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
See also: “BC Exit Highlights PEI Bio-Ecosystem”: Entrevestor
Emergence is a virtual incubator that supports the formation and growth of innovative bioscience and food sector startups, scale-ups and growth ventures. The program helps clients become investor-ready and assists their commercialization.
Emergence director, Martin Yuill, says, “The investment and exits that these incubator clients have achieved is a testament to the quality of the mentorship, business guidance, professional advice, and domain expertise they have received through our incubator program at all stages of their life cycles.”
Emergence director, Martin Yuill: “Emergence supports the formation and growth of innovative startups and growth stage companies”
Emergence clients enjoy access to a wide range of business, technical, scientific, regulatory and commercialization support services customized to meet their individual needs.
This includes:
- one-on-one and team-based mentorship;
- co-funded third-party consulting services;
- market research and intelligence;
- legal, IP, insurance, tax and financial expertise from a network of professional service provider partners; and
- support accessing international business and scientific networks as well as public- and private-sector funding and investment.
As a virtual incubator, Emergence serves high-potential companies wherever they are located in Canada. The program currently serves clients from “Vancouver, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland”.
The incubator also provides a ‘soft landing’ for international bioscience ventures seeking to start-up or establish themselves in, or expand into, Canada.
Emergence receives funding through the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program (CAIP). CAIP supports activities designed to expand the overall service offerings to early-stage firms and entrepreneurs, and promote a “higher output of SMEs that are investment-ready and able to develop into sustainable, high-growth businesses”.
“The significant follow-on funding and investment that our portfolio companies are attracting is evidence of the impact that Emergence is having cross Canada,” Yuill concludes.