For the second time in two years, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has released around $ 100 million for AppDirect, a San Francisco-based technology company with an expanding presence in Montreal.
Founded in 2009, AppDirect provides cloud computing services to businesses through its subscription commerce platform for the sale of recurring digital services.
The Caisse rose in force to the share capital of AppDirect last fall by injecting more than 100 million as part of a round of financing of 185 million with other investors where the money was to be used to support platform development efforts from the company’s Montreal office.
The financing operation this time is carried out in the form of debt.
“We invested in the company’s capital in 2020. Today, the company had a different need to accelerate its growth. The intention is to support AppDirect in its development, ”says Alexandre Synnett, Senior Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer at the Caisse de dépôt et placement.
The financing solution offered by la Caisse this fall will support the launch of AppDirect Capital and in particular the development of the APPSmart Invest program and financial products.
AppDirect is run by its founders, Ontarian Daniel Saks and Montrealer Nicolas Desmarais. As of March, AppDirect’s total workforce was approximately 800 employees, including more than 200 in Montreal. The company created in the metropolis this year the position of chief executive officer, information technologies.
PHOTO IVANOH DEMERS, PRESS ARCHIVES
Nicolas Desmarais and Daniel Saks, in 2014
In March, the Quebec government announced a loan of 55 million to AppDirect, explaining that this funding was to be used to create 730 jobs in five years in Montreal.
Daniel Saks had confided to The press last December, AppDirect aspired to launch the largest initial public offering in Canadian history in the technology sector. “We could do it today, but we want to make sure we do it at the right time,” he said.
Soon on the stock market?
The company is a candidate for a possible listing on the stock exchange mainly because of its strong growth and recurring revenues. The company could decide to go public if it thinks it can help it make acquisitions using its shares as currency or to raise additional capital.
The Stock Exchange is also a tool to increase visibility on an international scale and to help attract and retain talent.
AppDirect’s shareholders are predominantly Quebec with the Caisse de dépôt et placement, Inovia and Nicolas Desmarais, grandson of Paul Desmarais father, who passed away in 2013. American investors such as the bank JP Morgan and the firm of Mithril investment have notably also invested in equity capital in the past.
AppDirect was valued at C $ 2 billion when the Caisse announced its first investment in the company in September last year.
It is difficult to get precise figures since AppDirect remains a private company, but it is possible to say that the turnover is in the hundreds of millions.
The AppDirect platform is used today by large companies such as Microsoft, Google, Deutsche Telekom, Jaguar Land Rover and ADP.
AppDirect Says Its Platform Enables Merchants To Reduce The Cost Of Customer Conversion And Maximize Customer Value By Providing A One-Stop Shop To Manage Identity, Data, Mobility And Billing In Relation To Their Digital Services , in direct or indirect sales.