The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that mortgage-services firm Real Matters Inc. filed a preliminary prospectus late Monday to raise an undisclosed sum in an initial public offering. The Globe's Sean Silcoff writes that BMO Nesbitt Burns and Infor Financial Group will lead the deal. The previous Canadian software company to go public was Shopify, in May, 2015. Real Matters' board approved going public last year. Unlike many tech firms that go public, Real Matters' path to an IPO was financed primarily by conservative Bay Street financial institutions, rather than Silicon Valley venture-capital firms. (Its two largest shareholders, with more than 10 per cent each, are Altus Group and fund manager Edgepoint Investment.) The company, which has raised $164-million (U.S.) in private capital, said a year ago during its past fundraising round that it was valued at $650-million (Canadian). The company has staked much of its growth on bringing technology and improved service to the U.S. mortgage-appraisal business. Real Matters assigns and manages appraisers through an on-line software platform that informs appraisers in its network how their performance statistics stack up against others.