Bank-backed business growth fund accelerates financing deals during pandemic – The Globe and Mail

Chad Bayne

Jun 28, 2020

The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) has backed some of Canada’s fastest-growing enterprises and has emerged as one of the busiest backers of Canadian businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an article in The Globe and Mail. In his article, author Sean Silcoff explains how the fund faced skepticism at first but two years later, has invested $128 million in 14 companies across five provinces. According to the article, the fund, backed by several banks, “was created to buy minority stakes in growing Canadian companies generating $5-million to $100-million in revenue.”

Dale Ponder, Osler National Co-Chair and Chair of CBGF, explains why fund sponsors chose veteran private equity investor George Rossolatos to lead the fund. With his experience, he was seen as an ideal candidate to “understand the needs and challenges of smaller businesses,” Dale tells The Globe and Mail.

Chad Bayne, Co-Chair of Osler’s Emerging and High Growth Companies Group, was “a bit skeptical” at first, but he has been integral in helping CBGF refocus on high-potential technology companies. Chad has also leveraged his expertise to help CBGF draft funding offers that were more tailored to emerging and high-growth companies.

“They were very willing to listen,” Chad tells The Globe and Mail.  

If you subscribe to The Globe and Mail online, read more in author Sean Silcoff’s article, “Bank-backed business growth fund accelerates financing deals during pandemic” on June 28, 2020.