VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silver Maple Ventures Inc. (“SMV”), the company behind Canada’s first and largest investment crowdfunding platform, FrontFundr, yesterday announced the launch of its own financing round. The company is targeting C$1.5 million to drive innovation and fund business expansion in the private market arena.
Public access to this investment crowdfunding opportunity commenced at 9.30 am EST on January 28, 2020, during the launch event at the NEO Exchange in Toronto. The offering price is C$0.73 per share with a C$500 minimum order. Investments are eligible for RRSP and TSFA. The offering will close 60 days from launch. The offering is open to experienced and regular investors. Third-party purchases for clients are also acceptable.
FrontFundr operates as an online registered exempt market dealer and connects private companies directly with investors – and is open to all members of the public through its proprietary digital technology platform. SMV is also the company that launched DealSquare, in partnership with NEO Exchange. DealSquare is Canada’s first fully integrated private markets solution for securities dealers and investment advisors.
FrontFundr’s capital raise is also listed on DealSquare, opening up the investment opportunity for investment advisors and their client investors.
Strong growth of the private markets
Private companies are one of Canada’s main growth engines. FrontFundr is enabling all Canadians to invest in private companies while also giving those companies greater access to capital to help grow their businesses. The company believes that with its unique experience it is well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities. The proceeds of the raise will enable it to deliver on its growth strategies within the private capital markets.
Recently private markets have shown exceptional strength. In 2019, North American companies received twice as much investment from private sources as from public-equity and debt markets. As well, for decades, returns in private equity investment have outstripped the annual average S&P return of 3-4%.
Private also seems to be the new public. Companies stay private longer or don’t go public at all. The total number of public companies in Canada has declined by 35 percent since 2008. In the U.S., the total is down by 50 percent over the past two decades. Given the relocation of capital to the private markets, access for the wider investor community, and retail investors, has become even more important.
It is SMV’s mission to give the public access to private market opportunities.
Ahead of the curve
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, founder and CEO of FrontFundr and Managing Director of DealSquare stated, “Since 2014, we’ve been frontrunners in connecting private companies with the Canadian investing public. We worked with securities regulators in Canada to bring the private markets online and provide everyone access, which was certainly unknown here at the time, when everything was paper-based and transactions had to happen face-to-face.”
Research by SMV suggests that at least $2.5 billion per annum could be unlocked for investment in the private market if just 1.5% of investable assets held by the public were diverted toward the private space. To put this in perspective, the National Angel Capital Association (NACO), reported that angel investors invested an aggregate of $180 million in 2018. The Canadian Venture Capital Association reported total VC investments of $3.7billion in 2018.
SMV is transforming the private capital markets in Canada. It listed its own capital raise on FrontFundr and DealSquare, enabling anyone to become a co-owner.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Images are available here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KYTleAxueT7eF1xAiFQQO3TpbU26tbDS?usp=sharing
Silver Maple Ventures Inc owns and operates FrontFundr (FrontFundr.com) and DealSquare (DealSquare.io) the leading online investing platforms that open up investments in the private markets. FrontFundr’s online exempt market dealer (EMD) status plus its modern technology lets Canadians easily invest in innovative growth businesses in under 12 minutes and starting from $250. Invest in the Future frontfundr.com.
This is not a solicitation. Offering Memorandum and related materials may be viewed at https://www.frontfundr.com/Company/frontfundr_smv