Montreal-based investment firm MacKinnon Bennett (MKB) has secured $145 million in financial commitments to establish its third venture capital fund for innovative energy transition companies.
Called the MKB Partners Fund III, it targets “growth-stage companies that commercialize innovative and proven technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the clean energy, mobility, built environment and industry sectors.”
These financial commitments come from the Canada Growth Fund (for 50 million), the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC Capital, for 25 million), the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec (35 million each).
This third MKB fund is in addition to the two others set up over the past six years: Fund I launched in April 2018 with 50 million in initial capital and Fund II launched in September 2021 with 175 million in initial capital.
“Supporting climate technologies”
The investment portfolio of funds managed by MKB includes companies such as Flo, which develops and operates electric vehicle charging stations, and Communauto, which develops and manages the largest car-sharing system for automobiles in Canada.
According to Kim Thomassin, Senior Vice-President and Head of Investments in Quebec at the Caisse de dépôt, “this new investment in MKB allows us to commit our capital to a promising and profitable sector of our economy. It is also an opportunity to support climate technologies that will have an impact on decarbonization and shape our future.”
At the head of the Canadian Growth Fund (CGF), which is investing $50 million in this third MKB fund, the president and CEO of asset management, Patrick Charbonneau, expects that this investment will “increase the benefits of the strategy [du FCC] to foster growth and innovation in Canada’s clean technology sector.”
At BDC Capital, Paula Cruickshank, Senior Vice President, Investment Funds, says her $25 million contribution to MKB’s third fund is “recognition of her commitment to Canadian cleantech companies” to meet their “often complex capital requirements” as they move through the development and growth stages.