Three Canadian tech companies have recently made acquisitions or have been acquired. Here are the latest details on Canada’s movers and shakers.
Altus Assessments acquires fellow Canadian edtech One45
Toronto-based Altus Assessments has acquired Vancouver’s One45 and its medical education management software platform, MedEd, for an undisclosed amount. Updata Partners and CIBC Innovation Banking provided financing for the transaction.
Founded in 2014, Altus provides academic admissions assessment testing products to higher education institutions that focus on measuring interpersonal skills. Altus’ offerings are used by over 400 academic partners in Canada, the United States (US), and Australia. The company claims over 200,000 applicants take its assessments each year, including 90 percent of Canadian and US medical school applicants.
One45, which was founded in 2001, has grown from an evaluation-only system into a MedEd management platform that helps serve the operations, data collection, and reporting needs of over 100 medical schools across the world. MedEd helps medical programs improve their training and student support.
Altus told BetaKit the company has acquired all of One45’s employees as part of the deal, which is Altus’ first acquisition to date. For now, One45’s products will continue to be available under the One45 name. Altus plans to integrate the brand “over the next few months.”
Altus CEO Rich Emrich said the combination of Altus’ admissions assessments and One45’s software will enable Altus to serve higher education programs across “the learner’s entire journey.” Last May, Altus secured $3 million in debt funding from BMO’s innovation banking arm.
Medivolve acquires California pharmacy Marbella
Toronto-based health services and technology company Medivolve has acquired Marbella Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy based in California.
In consideration for the deal, Medivolve has issued $2 million common shares to Marbella shareholders, which it has agreed to give a cash consideration of $275,000 USD within 45 days of closing. Medivolve has also committed to paying a fee of $5 per serviced COVID-19 vaccination conducted through Marbella for a period of 60 months, post-closing.
Marbella specializes in traditional medications and non-sterile compounded products, immunizations, and specialty and maintenance medications. The company also offers no-cost prescription delivery service. Marbella participates in California’s COVID-19 vaccination initiative, administers vaccinations through its retail locations.
Medivolve, which trades on the NEO Exchange under the symbol ‘MEDV,’ focuses on the American healthcare market. The company offers a telehealth platform and a physical network of diagnostic labs and pharmacies. Through its acquisition of Marbella, Medivolve aims to support its next phase of growth by combining data-driven clinical diagnostics, physician recommendations, and prescription medications.
The Toronto-based company currently employs 237 people across Canada and the US. Medivolve said it is looking to hire over 400 medical professionals and at least 30 new software engineers and developers over the next 18 months.
Wondershare to acquire mobile video editing firm Ufoto
Burnaby-based company Wondershare Technology has announced the acquisition of China’s Ufoto, which offers a variety of mobile video editing apps. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2003, Wondershare provides a wide selection of creative, productivity, and utility desktop and mobile apps, with a focus that ranges from graphic design to PDF editing and file recovery. The company serves millions of users across over 150 countries. According to LinkedIn, Wondershare has 389 employees, most of whom are based in China.
“With the growing adoption of Ufoto, we are shifting our focus to invest in the mobile area,” said Tobee Wu, Wondershare’s CEO. Wondershare said the strategic acquisition of Ufoto will “further strengthen [Wondershare’s] position in the global mobile video market.”
Since 2015, Ufoto has launched a series of mobile photo and video editing apps, including Sweet Selfie, Sweet Snap, StoryChic, and Beat.ly. As of last year, Wondershare said Ufoto’s global cumulative users exceeded 80 million, with over 10 million active users daily.
Feature image by the National Cancer Institute via Unsplash
