Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan acquires Acorn Care and Education

LONDON - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, together with management, has completed the acquisition of Acorn Care and Education Ltd. (Acorn) from Phoenix Equity Partners. Financial details were not disclosed.

Acorn, established in 2005, is a leading provider of special needs schools and independent fostering services in the U.K. It operates 10 specialist schools across the U.K., providing day and residential care and education for children with special educational needs. Through Fostering Solutions, it also manages foster placements across seven regions of the country.

"We are delighted to be backing a proven company during the next phase of its growth. Our flexible and patient capital allows us to provide certain and appropriate investment support over the coming years to allow Acorn to take advantage of multiple growth opportunities," said Ben Hewetson, head of the London office of Teachers' Private Capital. "With its strong leadership and dedication to quality services and operations, Acorn is an ideal fit for our portfolio. We look forward to working with management to build the company through continued investment in all aspects of the business."

Mr. Hewetson leads a team of private equity professionals responsible for sourcing, negotiating and executing Teachers' private equity investments across the U.K. and Europe.

"We execute direct private equity investments all over the world," said Erol Uzumeri, Senior Vice-President for Teachers' Private Capital. "We believe our long-term decision to be close to markets and opportunities in the U.K. and Europe through our London office will help us continue to find good opportunities in these regions, as this transaction demonstrates."

About Teachers' Private Capital

Teachers' Private Capital is one of the world's largest private equity investors. It is the private investment department of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is an independent corporation responsible for investing the fund and administering the pensions of Ontario's 284,000 active and retired teachers. For more information visit www.otpp.com.

Contact:

Deborah Allan
Director, Communications and Media Relations
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
(416) 730-5347
deborah_allan@otpp.com