Toronto and Calgary-based Kensington Capital Partners has held final closing of the Kensington Venture Fund, at $306m.
The fund received commitments from new wealth managers, private foundations, and high net worth individuals and a group of existing investors including BMO Financial Group, CIBC, OpenText Corporation, Richardson GMP, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Torstar Corporation, and the Government of Canada.
Launched in November 2014, the Kensington Venture Fund is a fund of funds investing in Canadian-based VC funds and technology companies in the telecommunications, digital/social media, enterprise software, SaaS, mobile, data analytics, and e-commerce sectors. It also invests in energy technology funds and companies, including those focused on cleantech, digital oilfields, industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), digital mapping and imaging, smart grid, extraction tech, environmental remediation, and alternative energy, and also pursuing select investment opportunities in the United States.
The fund is primarily focused on Series A/B investments, while also considering a diversified portfolio including both early- and late-stage investments. It pays close attention to Central and Western Canada, targeting investments in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia across key technology sectors and stages.
To date, the fund has made investments in more than a dozen venture capital funds, including iNovia Investment Fund 2015, Georgian Partners II, Golden Venture Partners, McRock iNFund, Novacap TMT VI, OpenText Enterprise Application Fund (OTEAF), Whitecap Venture Partners (Whitecap III), and Vanedge II plus three other funds that have not yet been announced. Direct investments include Blue Ant Media, Brightspark, Hubba, and TouchBistro.
Founded in 1996 and led by Rick Nathan, Managing Director, Kensington Capital Partners has invested approximately $100 million in each of BC and Alberta from across its various managed funds.
FinSMEs
03/03/2016