HootSuite Gets $20 Million Stake

A Canadian VC invests $20 million in the social media platform, recently valued at $200 million.

A new HootSuite investment is one of the biggest Canadian VC deals in a decade, according to a press release.

OMERS Ventures, an investment arm of OMERS Worldwide, is buying a $20 million ownership in HootSuite through a secondary purchase from the company’s shareholders.

HootSuite says it has about 4 million users, including corporations like PepsiCo and TIME. Ryan Holmes, founder and CEO of the Vancouver social media company, told the Wall Street Journal that this is to help him achieve his vision of building a billion-dollar company.

This deal values HootSuite at $200 million, says Tech Crunch, Holmes told the Journal he’s had offers for HootSuite at $10 million, $40 million and $100 million, but declined. He sees other entrepreneurs in Canada willing to sell their companies, but says, “for me, I look at this and say it’s a shame, because so many companies that have huge potential get out too early in this scenario.” —Erin Kim

Photo via Barney Craggs.