Dialogue to be acquired by Sun Life for C$365m
A proud moment for White Star Capital, as we share our congratulations with Dialogue on its acquisition by Sun Life — another impressive milestone.
We have been proud supporters of Dialogue since our journey began with White Star Capital leading the Series A round in 2018.
Having recognised the company’s potential to help millions of patients gain better access to healthcare with its innovative digital health solutions, we continued to support the team through subsequent funding rounds until Dialogue’s initial public offering in 2021 and are now the second-largest shareholder besides Sun Life.
Dialogue’s transition from startup to health tech leader
It’s been an impressive growth story. Back in 2018, the thesis that drove our investment in Dialogue’s Series A was based on three main pillars:
- Increasing telehealth penetration rate in Canada — adoption rate was far behind the US and many countries in Europe for a number of reasons, including the need for systematic acceptance of telehealth
- Strength of the B2B employee benefits model for markets with universal healthcare systems having studied players in the UK and Europe with the help of White Star Capital’s teams on the ground in London and Paris
- AI-driven technology (human-in-the-loop) supporting doctors in optimising response times and triaging patients using algorithms and chatbots — Dialogue went on to implement NLP for triage, long before ChatGPT was making headlines, and this became a key piece of technology that enabled the company to scale
Following the Series A, Dialogue solidified its position as Canada’s leading telemedicine provider and expanded its product offering. By 2019, Dialogue’s business was rapidly growing, reaching 200,000 members across all provinces and over 400 enterprise clients. The team’s ability to achieve double-digit growth and exceptional track record of executing on objectives made it an easy decision for us to increase our investment in Dialogue’s $40m Series B round in June 2019, which was led by CDPQ.
When the White Star Capital team made its initial investment, telemedicine had less than 1% penetration in Canada. However, Dialogue has enacted positive change by becoming an integral part of the telemedicine space by proving its efficacy, efficiency, and accessibility — particularly in rural areas. Proven by the fact that Dialogue now serves nearly 10% of the Canadian population as of May 2023.
Dialogue’s growth trajectory is impressive. Dialogue grew from 58k members and C$7.0mm in ARR in 2018 to over 2.8m members and C$106mm in ARR by March 2023. It’s a fantastic achievement and a testament to a flawless operating execution from the team.
Acquisition by Sun Life
Dialogue will maintain its head office in Montréal, Québec, and will continue to operate the business independently, with oversight from a new board of directors comprised of senior executives of Sun Life and Dialogue.
The acquisition of Dialogue by Sun Life is highly complementary and beneficial to the two organizations as they are both uniquely positioned to unite for the common purpose of helping Canadians live healthier lives. As the premier integrated health platform in Canada, with a distinctive management team and entrepreneurial culture, Dialogue will fit naturally as a core strategic pillar of Sun Life.
Importantly, Dialogue will continue to execute its strategic plan and grow its business. Furthermore, Dialogue will continue to provide a premium service to all its customers and distribution partners, each of which will continue to have access to Dialogue’s services and capabilities, and will benefit, without limitation, from the continued innovation resulting from this acquisition.
Dialogue x White Star Capital
When this acquisition closes, it will bring our partnership with the team at Dialogue to a close. It’s been an incredible journey and a deeply fulfilling experience as board members and advocates of the leadership team. From the first meeting in September 2017, where JF Marcoux, Christophe Bourque and Sanjay Zimmermann met with the founders of Dialogue at their first office on the third floor of 481 Viger Ouest, to helping with organic go-to-market growth tactics, execution of strategic acquisition opportunities to enter new geographies, complete the product offering or add tech platform capabilities, we will continue to support from the sidelines as Dialogue continues to increase its positive influence in the telemedicine sector in Canada.
As White Star Capital is the largest shareholder of Dialogue besides Sun Life today, this acquisition will result in proceeds of C$44m to our 2018 fund vintage. It marks our fourth exit in Canada, having contributed to the success of Ludia, Mnubo, and Immunio.
Congratulations to Dialogue’s co-founders Cherif, Anna, and Alexis and to Jean-Nicolas and Navaid on this milestone. Thank you for having us as a partner in your growth story and we look forward to following Dialogue’s continued success as part of Sun Life. Congratulations to CDPQ and Sagard/Portage, our co-investors and fellow Board members at Dialogue. We remain grateful for their partnership and look forward to working together as co-investors on other exciting companies.
Our involvement with Dialogue has created deep sectoral expertise and White Star Capital will continue investing in the health tech sector, among others, with our diversified investment approach. We also remain bullish on the future of Canadian tech, with a portfolio of promising companies that includes Vention, Novisto, and Carbon6. If you’re interested in discussing the future of the ecosystem, both in terms of health tech and broader sectors, please reach out to our team.
White Star Capital is a global multi-stage technology investment platform that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building ambitious, international businesses. With offices across North America, Europe, and Asia, our global presence, perspective, and people enable us to partner closely with our founders to help them scale internationally.
