Verafin, a Newfoundland-based financial crime management software company, recently completed a CA$515 million financing transaction, the largest venture funding deal in Canadian history.
With participation by new backers Northleaf Capital Partners, BDC Capital and Teralys Capital, the new equity financing was provided by Spectrum Equity’s current investing fund and Information Venture Partners’ (IVP) new fund. Wells Fargo Capital Finance led the senior debt financing for the deal which also included Scotiabank in the alliance.
“The recapitalization allows Verafin to aggressively pursue its growth plans while remaining an independent company,” read a press release from Verafin. “Following the transaction, Verafin co-founders, management and employees will collectively represent the largest shareholding group. A prior IVP fund provided initial venture capital financing for Verafin in 2009, and a prior Spectrum Equity fund led a substantial growth equity financing in 2014.”
According to a report by The Globe and Mail, this transaction – which was completed Sept. 25 – surpassed the previous venture funding record set earlier this month wherein two U.S. financiers invested CA$333 million in the B.C. based legal software firm, Clio.
The homegrown success story has been strengthening a growing software and technology industry in Newfoundland since its initiation in 2003. The company is well known for its cloud-based fraud detection and anti-money laundering collaborative software and aims to fight financial crime through cross-institutional and collaboration analysis. The company claims to have a client-base of approximately 3,000 banks and credit unions across the world.
