Northleaf reaches C$264m for VC FoF

The Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund can invest up to 10 percent of its total commitments in secondaries.

Northleaf Capital Partners has collected C$264 million ($220 million; €194 million) for its Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund (NVCF), according to a statement.

The fund is targeting C$300 million and has raised capital from limited partners such as Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division. Its newest investor is the Ontario Pension Board, the statement disclosed.

“Our support will help increase private sector investment in innovative, high-growth start-ups across Canada,” finance minister Joe Oliver said in the statement.

Increased commitments to NVCF also came from BDC Capital, on behalf of the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, the statement disclosed.

NVCF invests in Canadian venture capital and growth equity funds as well as companies with the potential to to contribute to Canada’s venture capital industry.

The fund began investing in January 2014 and has closed 11 deals to date, including committing to six venture capital fund managers such as Georgian Partners, Versant Ventures and Golden Venture Partners. The fund has also closed  five direct investments in companies including unlimited stories mobile application Wattpad and cloud-based customer service company Vision Critical. The fund has the capability of investing up to 10 percent of its capital in secondaries deals.

Northleaf is based in Toronto and also manages a dedicated secondaries fund which closed on $255 million in May 2014. About 22 percent of the fund was deployed as of August.