Teachers’ completes acquisition of majority stake in Australian telecom companies
TORONTO — Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') today announced it has completed the acquisition of approximately 70% of three Australian telecommunications companies from Leighton Holdings Limited (Leighton).
The acquisition of Nextgen Networks, Metronode and Infoplex values 100% of these businesses at A$885 million. Nextgen manages high-speed, carrier-grade fibre network services; Metronode provides data centre and related value-added services; and Infoplex provides cloud and ICT services.
The businesses have been brought together under a new ownership structure and have been rebranded as the Nextgen Group. Leighton, based in Sydney, will retain an approximately 30% ownership share in the Nextgen Group, which will remain headquartered in Australia with existing management remaining in place.
This transaction was led by Teachers' Long-Term Equities group, which focuses on direct investments with steady cash flow, growth potential over a long-term horizon and a low to moderate level of risk.
About Teachers'
With $129.5 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2012, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 303,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, including our 2012 and previous annual reports, visit www.otpp.com. Follow us @OtppInfo.