CPP Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan invest US$400 million in Chinese private equity fund
HONG KONG: The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the investment management organization that invests the reserve fund assets of the Canada Pension Plan, and Teachers' Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, announced today they are investing US$200 million each in FountainVest, a newly established private equity fund focused on investing in private enterprises in China.
The CPP Investment Board and Teachers' Private Capital jointly co-sponsored the fund. The FountainVest fund will focus on investment opportunities in private enterprises that can benefit from both earnings growth and expansion.
Mark Wiseman, senior vice-president for Private Investments with the CPP Investment Board said, "We are pleased to be partnering with one of the top fund managers in China, which is itself a rapidly evolving market for private equity. This investment, which is one of our largest in the region, will provide enhanced access to investment opportunities in mainland China through an aligned and well-positioned partner. Including the FountainVest investment, the CPPIB now has over C$1 billion committed to private equity and real estate investments in the region."
Erol Uzumeri, senior vice-president of Teachers' Private Capital said, "This new fund combines a proven local management team with dedicated capital to take advantage of the large market and growth potential in China. We've been an investor in Asia since 1994 and continue to look for opportunities to back the best local teams to help us invest in the region." He added Teachers' Private Capital has C$1 billion invested and committed to the Asian region.
With a presence in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the management team of FountainVest is made up of four senior professionals with international investment experience and a strong track record of investing in China. They are Chinese natives with past experience at such organizations as Temasek Holdings, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Partners.
About CPP Investment Board
The CPP Investment Board invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 17 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPP Investment Board is investing in publicly-traded stocks, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income. Based in Toronto, the CPP Investment Board is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At December 31, 2007, the CPP Fund totaled C$119.4 billion of which C$20.2 billion is invested in private investments.
For more information about the CPP Investment Board, visit www.cppib.ca.
About Teachers' Private Capital
With C$17 billion in invested and committed capital globally, Teachers' Private Capital is ranked 20th in the world in total capital deployed over the past five years (February 2002 – April 2007) by Private Equity International in its PEI 50 ranking of the world's largest private equity firms. Teachers' Private Capital is the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada with C$106 billion in net assets at December 31, 2006. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is an independent corporation responsible for investing the fund and administering the pensions of Ontario's 271,000 active and retired teachers.
This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registrations statement or an exemption from registration. The issuer of the securities does not intend to conduct a public offering of any securities in the United States.
Contact:
In Hong Kong:
Vickie Ho
Ruder Finn Asia
Direct: +852 2201 6438
Mobile: +852 9629 4876
hov@ruderfinnasia.com
In Canada:
Joel Kranc
Manager, Communications
CPP Investment Board
(416) 874-5163
jkranc@cppib.ca
Deborah Allan
Director, Communications and Media Relations
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
(416) 730-5347
deborah_allan@otpp.com