Montreal (Quebec), September 30, 2014 - Orckestra is pleased to announce that it has completed its Series A round of financing with Fondaction CSN, W Investments and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. This group of investors combines the depth and experience of two of the major billion dollar Canadian funds with a proven track record of a technology-oriented investment firm managed by highly successful serial entrepreneurs.
At the heart of this new funding is the company’s ground-breaking Overture Platform that continues to win awards as the backbone of state-of-the-art solutions developed for mid-size and large enterprise B2B, B2C, B2B2C and Franchise clients such as Mary Kay, Stanley Black & Decker, Panago Pizza, and more recently Giant Eagle and LyondellBasell.
The funds will be used to sustain the rapid expansion of Orckestra’s global sales capabilities, as well as their accelerated partner channels which have welcomed 12 new partners in North America and Europe in the past 6 months alone, and to reinforce continued global marketing efforts and R&D for both Overture Commerce and Overture Product Data Management.
“We are thrilled to welcome Fondaction CSN, W Investments and Fonds de solidarité FTQ on board as new shareholders in Orckestra. Our team has invested a lot of time and expertise in building a one-of-a-kind solution that will revolutionize omni-channel commerce in the Digital Age. There is an immense gap to be filled, and that is exactly what we are doing with Overture,” stated Louis Fournier, CEO and Co-founder of Orckestra. “This round of financing will ensure we continue to deliver on our mission to provide best-in-class products and solutions that help large organizations adapt, perform and innovate,” he added.
“We support companies that have proven, state-of-the-art technology and a forward-thinking mindset with strong potential for growth,” explained Nicolas Belanger, Managing Partner and co-founder of W Investments. “We believe Overture is a ground-breaking platform, and Commerce OrchestrationTM is a real game-changer compared to the older, more traditional approaches on the market.”
The Overture Commerce Platform was engineered specifically for this new commerce generation, offering flexible deployment models in the cloud, on-premise or hybrid, and seamless integration with back-end and legacy systems already in place. It brings to market Commerce OrchestrationTM, enabling organizations to unify, simplify and control commerce data flowing across all online, offline and back-end systems.
Mr. Luc Villeneuve, Assistant, Head of Investments of Fondaction CSN revealed, “We chose to invest in Orckestra not only for their innovation and the growing impact the Overture Platform is having on the market, but also their team of industry thought leaders who know exactly what is needed to resolve the issues facing most large, global organizations.”
“Created in 2012, our partnership with W Investments employs an innovative co-investment approach to finance mature stage Québec companies in the information, telecommunications, digital technology and clean tech sectors,” explained Alain Denis, Senior Vice-President, New Economy at the Fonds. “With its strong potential for growth, Orckestra fits perfectly well with our strategy to support the emergence of promising Québec companies in sectors of the economy that did not exist even a few years ago.”
Orckestra has been demonstrating their tremendous potential for growth in the past several years, and was recently awarded the prestigious PROFIT 500 Export Excellence Award for their impressive 3056% five-year revenue growth in exports thanks to their expansion into the US. And this trajectory continues to escalate with several newly signed North American enterprise clients and engagements in Mexico and Europe.
Orckestra’s Executive Vice-President and Co-founder, Vincent Trepanier, confirms, “The pace at which we are growing is incredible. It’s a tough business out there for mid-size and large companies with global markets and multiple brands, whose customers are more demanding than ever. New realities like omni-channel and mobile commerce are creating major disruptions faster than they can keep up. But Orckestra is built on a foundation of commerce industry experts who know what is needed, not just right now but looking ahead. Our solutions help them adapt rapidly and empower them to get ahead, and safeguard their investment with smart, agile and scalable commerce technology.”
About Fondaction CSN
Fondaction invests in Québec SMEs in order to help maintain and create jobs in Québec, within a context of sustainable development. It manages $1.2 billion in assets from retirement savings collected from 128,000 shareholders. Through its investments or commitments, either directly or by way of partner or specialized funds, Fondaction supports the development of more than 850 Québec SMEs, many of which represent different components of the social economy.
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ helps drive our economy. With net assets of $10.1 billion as of May 31, 2014, the Fonds is a development capital fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help create and maintain jobs and further Québec’s development. The Fonds is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in more than 2,450 companies. With 613,958 shareholder-savers, the Fonds helps create, maintain and protect more than 172,000 jobs.
About W Investments
W Investments is a private Québec investment firm that targets businesses with high growth potential. Taking an entrepreneurial approach, the partners guide companies in their development, maximizing their strengths and assets. A springboard for talent, W Investments ensures the next generation of entrepreneurs, guarantees growth and brings added value that makes all the difference. The investment firm just closed its 3rd fund (W3) in July 2014.
About Orckestra
Blending technology, innovation, strategy and creativity, Orckestra represents the new commerce generation of companies offering products, solutions and services that converge on-line with in-store experience. Orckestra is the company behind Overture Commerce, a highly flexible, adaptable and cost-effective enterprise .NET commerce platform that brings to market a unique approach named Commerce OrchestrationTM. It fuels the next-generation commerce solutions geared for global deployments, multiple brands and multiple market scenarios, while providing the very best digital customer experience.
FOR MORE MEDIA INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Florin Filip
VP, Marketing & Product Strategy, Orckestra
Tel: 514 398-0999
E-mail: Florin.filip@orckestra.com
Suzanne La Ferrière
Communications Coordinator, Fondaction CSN
Tel: 514 525-7041
E-mail: suzanne.laferriere@fondaction.com