Hifi Completes $10 Million Equity Financing

CALGARY, Alberta, July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hifi Engineering Inc. ("Hifi"), a developer and supplier of next generation fiber optic sensing technology used to monitor assets including pipelines and oil and gas wells, today announced the successful closing of a $10.0 million equity financing.  BDC, Canada's bank for entrepreneurs, who is a new investor in Hifi, co-invested with an existing strategic investor in Hifi, with each investing $5 million of equity capital. The proceeds of the financing will primarily be used to assist with the rapid commercial growth of Hifi on both a domestic and international basis, as well as to fund continued research and development-based innovations including the next generation release of Hifi's high fidelity dynamic sensing (HDStm) platform, as well as flow monitoring, and continued artificial intelligence / machine learning based algorithm development.

"Hifi is very pleased to have a new strategic partner such as BDC joining our existing long-term investors," said Steven Koles, President & CEO of Hifi. "The strategic alignment of BDC with our existing investors in Enbridge and Cenovus represents a powerful force that will accelerate the successful application of Hifi's HDS technology to the pipeline monitoring industry, which will assist in improved pipeline safety for all stakeholders. The financing is also accretive to existing shareholders and further validates the significant value creation accomplished over the past several years."

Hifi's fiber optic sensing and monitoring system has been commercially deployed with a number of partners such as oil and gas pipeline operators, mining operators, and water utilities in Canada, the U.S., Europe and South America. The financing will allow Hifi to continue expanding its deployments on both new build and existing pipelines to improve leak prevention and detection for infrastructure partners.

"We are excited to be part of Hifi's organization and to support its management team's impressive growth plans, which are a win for both the environment and the economy," says Cheri Corbett, Director, Cleantech Practice at BDC. "We are confident that Hifi can continue on its path of becoming an industry standard system for pipeline operators across North American and internationally," Corbett says. "This innovative company has a management team with a proven track record of value creation in this sector, a strong board of directors and a well-aligned shareholder base."

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Hifi with respect to the financing.

About Hifi
Hifi is a privately held Canadian company, with minority ownership from Enbridge, BDC and Cenovus, specializing in the research, development, supply and commercial operation of next generation fiber optic sensing technologies primarily used for preventative leak detection for pipelines and monitoring of critical assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Hifi currently has a number of commercialized products based on its high fidelity dynamic sensing (HDStm) technology platform, over 50 patents, and was named Digital Innovator of the year for the 2019 Global Petroleum Show (GPS) awards. For more information, visit hifieng.com

About BDC
BDC is the only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. It promotes Canadian entrepreneurship with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses. With its 123 business centers from coast to coast, BDC provides businesses in all industries with financing and advisory services. Its investment arm, BDC Capital, offers equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions. BDC is also the first financial institution in Canada to receive B Corp certification. To find out more, visit www.bdc.ca.

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