White Star Capital, a global VC firm with an office in Montreal and a regional focus on North America and Europe, has announced a close of $232 million CAD for its second fund.
The new fund follows White Star Capital’s first fund of $90 million CAD, launched in 2014. Institutional investors in this second fund include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Fonds de solidarité FTQ (FSTQ), the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Consolidated Reserve Fund of the States of Guernsey, Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC), Investissement Quebec, ARKEA Group, and Mizuho Securities.
The firm’s Canadian investments include Drop, Borrowell, Gymtrack, and Dialogue. The Globe and Mail reports that there is also a significant Canadian presence on the team itself; co-founders Eric Martineau-Fortin and Jean-François Marcoux are Montreal natives, and three of its five partners are Canadian.
Martineau-Fortin will be relocating from New York to Paris to lead the firm’s presence in the city.
“We have purposely sought a diverse and global investor base for our second fund, many of whom are repeat investors from fund one, and we would like to thank them for their continued support,” said Eric Martineau-Fortin, co-founder and managing partner of White Star Capital. “Our growing team has extensive operational experience and we are passionate about supporting ambitious entrepreneurs with truly global ambitions. Internationalisation represents a huge opportunity for many high-growth companies and our global reach means we can support companies looking to scale outside of their home market. We become active partners to all the entrepreneurs we work with and the new fund will enable us to help even more companies realise their potential.”
On top of its offices in London and New York, White Star Capital is establishing a presence in Paris and Tokyo.
