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Online vehicle retailer E Inc. to delist from TSX citing limited trading volumes (BETAKIT)
According to E Inc., it decided to delist from the TSX because maintaining the listing doesn’t offer “substantial benefits” to the company and its shareholders. E Inc. said it expects to delist its shares from the TSX on or about May 24, at which point there will be no public market to trade the company’s shares.
Goodfood delivers the promised profit (LA PRESSE)
Not only did the Montreal company specializing in ready-to-cook meals generate an adjusted operating profit of $3 million for the quarter covering the months of December, January and February, it even posted a net profit of $100,000. This performance, closely linked to cost reduction initiatives, is recorded despite a marked drop in sales and the number of active customers.
Osler's market-leading Emerging and High Growth Companies Group has released its second annual Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings, a study of 353 anonymized venture capital and growth equity financings from 2020 to 2022, valued at more than US$6 billion.
This comprehensive report is a must read for founders, entrepreneurs, investors and advisors who are contemplating transactions in 2023 and beyond.
Read the Deal Points Report now.
#CDNtech sector struggles continue as government innovation promises continue to lag (BETAKIT)
With spring officially here, BetaKit’s most-read stories for the month of March highlight a season of transition for Canadian tech, with ongoing frustrations and challenges met by long-term optimism and an immediate need to reconcile with AI disruption.
Dive into this recap of Betakit's coverage through the turbulent month of March.
Sleep Country to buy Casper's Canadian operations for $20.6 million (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Toronto-based mattress retailer Sleep Country will pay US$20.6 million for the Canadian assets of Casper, a U.S. based mattress-in-a-box company.
Sleep Country will receive a US$4.5 million marketing transition fee from Casper over the next four years and three-year warrants which would convert into a one per cent stake in Casper.
Product sampling startup Sampler acquires Abeo to deepen footprint in beauty industry (BETAKIT)
Sampler, which provides a product sampling platform for a variety of consumer packaged goods, has acquired beauty industry digital sampling agency Abeo.
According to Toronto-based Sampler, acquiring Abeo will help advance the former’s expertise in the beauty category and accelerate its expansion into Europe as well as the US, where Abeo currently has offices.
Apple triples India iPhone output to $7 Billion in China shift
(BNN BLOOMBERG)
Apple Inc. assembled more than $7 billion of iPhones in India last fiscal year, tripling production in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone arena after accelerating a move beyond China.
Apple is exploring ways to reduce its reliance on China as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate.
Round13 nabs $200 million first close for third fund as co-founders Bruce Croxon, John Eckert step back (BETAKIT)
Round13 Capital has raised $200 million CAD in the first close of its latest fund, as its co-founders Bruce Croxon and John Eckert hand over the leadership reins to Round13 general partners Brahm Klar and Wilson Lee.
TikTok struggles to enlist U.S. merchants for shopping service
(THE INFORMATION)
As TikTok tries to win over U.S. politicians, it may have kneecapped its shopping service, TikTok Shop.
Relatively few U.S. merchants are showing interest in signing up for the nascent service, both because they’re more focused on expanding in bricks and mortar and because they’re concerned the app could be banned, merchants say.
Down rounds in 2022 lower than expected amid reliance on bridge financing: Osler report (BETAKIT)
Despite the market uncertainty that played out in 2022, the number of down rounds fell below the three year average between 2020 to 2022. This is one of the findings in the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s second annual report on venture capital and growth equity.
How Bookshop.org survives—and thrives—in Amazon’s world (WIRED)
The problem for independent bookstores is that many of them don’t have the bandwidth to run their own online stores. Instead indies can partner with Bookshop, let them handle disribution, and get a cut of the sales.
Technically, Bookshop doesn’t need independent stores to join its platform. If the goal were merely to sell books online it could do just that, but then, of course, it wouldn’t be special.
One year in, competition in Ontario’s iGaming market remains red hot (BETAKIT)
As one of North America’s largest markets by adult population, Ontario was initially pegged to generate approximately $570 million in iGaming revenue in 2022; the results were almost three times higher.
As the iGaming market heads into its second year in the province, companies are doubling down on unique growth strategies to gain an edge.
Amazon warehouse workers are seriously injured at twice the rate of employees at similar warehouses, study finds (BUSINESS INSIDER)
The rate of worker injuries at Amazon warehouses was 70% higher compared to other warehouse companies in 2022, according to a recent report from union coalition Strategic Organizing Center.
The report also found that the rate of "serious" injuries was more than double the serious-injury rate at other warehouses.
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