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2019 Year in Review (Final Wrap-up): A Look Back at the Top BC Tech Industry Stories of 2019
Friday, January 3, 2020
Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Deal of the Year: MDA Acquired by Northern Private Capital (from Maxar) for $1 Billion on Dec 30th, Company Headquarters to Return to Canada
Vancouver, BC, January 3, 2020--(T-Net)--2019 was another incredibly strong year for the BC tech industry overall with continued strength in company financing's, merger and acquisition activity, product development, and general corporate growth across many sectors of the BC tech industry.
As we all gear up for and look forward to another year of expected growth in 2020, here is a quick look back at some of the most important stories T-Net covered in the BC tech industry over the past year in fiscal 2019.
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Top 5 M&A (merger and acquisition) deals T-Net reported on in 2019:
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1. TELUS to acquire European Call Centre Solutions firm Competence Call Center for $1.3 Billion (through TELUS International) - Dec 6, 2019
2. MDA Acquired by Northern Private Capital (from Maxar) for $1 Billion, Company Headquarters to Return to Canada - Dec 30, 2019
3. TELUS To Expand Home Security Business, Announces Agreement to Acquire Canadian Operations of ADT for $700 Million - October 2, 2019
4. Burnaby-based Alpha Technologies Acquired by EnerSys (NYSE: ENS) for $750 Million - closed in Dec 2018 (but reported in 2019)
5. Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Company Creation Technologies to be Acquired by Private Equity Firm Lindsay Goldberg (dollar amount not specified) - July 23, 2019
Other notable M&A deals in 2019 included Sierra Wireless's acquisition of Australia's M2M Group of Companies for $19.8 Million US ($25.9M CDN), Intrinsyc Software's acquisition by Lantronix for $35.5 Million, and Carmanah Technologies Asset Sale to SPX Corporation for U.S. $77 Million ($102 Million CDN).
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Top 5 BC tech industry financing deals T-Net reported on in 2019:
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1. Clio Closes Massive $330 Million Series-D Financing, one of the Largest in BC Tech Industry History - September 4, 2019
2. Zymeworks Announces Closing of US $200 Million Financing (Public Offering) - June 28, 2019
3. Victoria-based BioPharm Company Aurinia Closes $250 Million Public Offering of Common Shares - December 18, 2019
4. Vancouver-based Sierra Oncology Announces Closing of $103 Million Financing and Changes to its Board of Directors - November 26, 2019
5. Vancouver-based PDFTron Systems Closes Major $95 Million Growth Investment Led By Silversmith Capital Partners - May 17, 2019
See T-Net's full list of top 10 financing deals in 2019 here: BC Tech Companies Raise Record Financing in 2019 (Well Over $2 Billion), 10 Largest Deals Bring in Over $1.4 Billion
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Top 5 Major Award Announcements reported on by T-Net in 2019
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1. Deloitte Announces 2019 winners of its 'Technology Fast 50 Program' - 10 BC Tech companies Make the List - Nov 8, 2019
2. EY announces Galvanize CEO Laurie Schultz as 'Entrepreneur of the Year' 2019 - October 28, 2019
3. Vancouver-Based Video Creation Platform Lumen5 Wins 2019 New Ventures BC Competition - September 20, 2019
4. The BC Tech Association Announces Winners of 2019 Technology Impact Awards - July 2, 2019
5. Rocket Builders Releases 'Ready to Rocket' Lists to Profile BC Tech Companies with Highest Growth Potential in 2019 - March 12, 2019
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Top 5 Major Growth Stories T-Net reported on in 2019:
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1. Zymeworks and Pharma Giant GSK Expand 2016 Azymetric™ Bispecific Agreement, Worth up to Potential US $1.1 Billion - May 17, 2019
2. D-Wave Systems and Sigma-i Announce Largest-Ever Quantum Cloud-Access Contract - August 7, 2019
3. Vancouver-based Gaming Company Relic Entertainment Moves to Huge New 50,000 sq' Studio in Mount Pleasant Area - Nov 8, 2019
4. Vancouver-Based Mobile Game Developer Kabam Leases 105,000 Sq' in new Cutting-Edge Vancouver Office Tower - January 10, 2019
5. Burnaby-based Xenon and Neurocrine Biosciences Announce Massive Deal to Develop Treatments for Epilepsy (Worth Potential $1.7 Billion) - December 4, 2019
Other notable growth stories this year included:
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Finally, if your company is looking to raise financing, here are some of the major new VC funds (and capital raised) stories that T-Net reported on in 2019 (in reverse date order):
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1. Vancouver-Based Vistara Capital Closes $150 Million Technology Growth Fund (for Mid-Late Stage Technology Companies) - December 12, 2019
2. Chrysalix Venture Capital Announces Second Close for Global VC Fund Focused on Intelligent Systems for Resource Intensive Industries - December 6, 2019
3. Vancouver-based VC Firm Renewal Funds Announces Final Close of $145 Million Early Stage Investment Fund (Renewal4 Fund) - October 1, 2019
4. Northleaf Achieves Final Closing of $300 Million VC Fund as part of Govt of Canada's Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative - June 5, 2019
5. BDC Capital Launches $250 Million Industrial Innovation Venture Fund to invest in Tech Companies and Entrepreneurs - June 4, 2019
Just in case you didn't think anything happened in 2019!
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Editor's Note: If we missed anything significant in our above-noted year end summary of major announcements (compareable in size and importance to other listed items), or if you notice any errors, please let us know and we'll try and add it (or fix it).
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