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IMCO closes more than CAD$2-billion in private equity transactions in 2021

Private Equity team adds four strategic partners; completes seven direct equity and co-investments in record year

TORONTO (Dec 15, 2021) – The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”) has closed $2.3 billion in private equity transactions in 2021, adding four strategic partners by making four new fund commitments totaling nearly $1.5 billion, and completing seven direct equity and co-investment deals with new and existing partners totaling nearly $800 million in a record year.

“IMCO’s Private Equity program is differentiated by our ability to complement our long-term strategic partner relationships with the direct investing capabilities of our highly experienced team,” said Craig Ferguson, Managing Director, Private Equity, IMCO. “The result is a highly resilient portfolio that enables clients to efficiently access investment opportunities diversified across geographies, sectors and products. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 2021 was a year of record execution of our growth strategy, and we are delighted to partner with like-minded investors and managers to add value and help portfolio companies achieve their full potential.”

IMCO’s Private Equity program is designed to achieve superior risk-adjusted returns for clients through a differentiated hybrid approach to investing, leveraging long term relationships with best-in-class strategic partners around the world, with a highly experienced team capable of making direct equity and co-investments. IMCO’s Private Equity team is predominantly focused on the buyout segment of the market, including companies in North America and Europe with strong management teams. The portfolio seeks to invest across a range of sectors such as industrials, services, consumer, technology/media/telecommunications, healthcare and financial services. As of December 31, 2020, IMCO’s Private Equity portfolio had net investments of $2.7 billion. The portfolio is expected to grow to more than $6 billion in five years.

 

New Strategic Partners and Fund Commitments

  • In line with its investment strategy to add European exposure in resilient sectors, IMCO made a commitment to Ardian (“Ardian”), one of the leading European private equity fund managers based in France that is also a leader in sustainable investing. Ardian’s buyout platform makes control investments in European middle-market companies focused primarily in four core sectors: healthcare, the food value chain, technology and services. In addition to the fund commitment, IMCO completed a co-investment alongside Ardian in 2021.
  • IMCO also added greater North American exposure to the private equity portfolio with fund commitments to new strategic partners GI Partners (“GI”), KKR, and Peloton Capital Management (“Peloton”).
  • GI is a private investment firm focused on private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team aims to pursue control-oriented investments primarily in the healthcare, IT infrastructure, services, and software sectors. IMCO also co-invested alongside GI in the acquisition of Valet Living, the largest national provider of amenity services to the multi-family residential real estate industry in the United States.
  • KKR is one of the world’s largest private equity investors. IMCO made a commitment to its North American private equity platform, which pursues primarily control investments in upper middle-market, large capitalization companies and platform buildups, as well as growth equity investments in the industrials, technology, media, telecom, consumer, healthcare and financial services sectors. IMCO has co-invested alongside KKR in the acquisition of Neighborly Brands, one of the largest franchisors of “do-it-for-me” home services in the United States.
  • Peloton is a Canada-based private equity firm focused on control and minority investments in the North American middle-market businesses in the financial services, healthcare services and consumer sectors.

Deepening Relationships with Existing Strategic Partners

  • Since announcing a new relationship with Kohlberg & Company (“Kohlberg”) in October 2020, IMCO has closed three direct equity and co-investment deals alongside this strategic partner.
  • In 2021, IMCO made a direct equity investment alongside Kohlberg — in the acquisition of Ob Hospitalist Group, the largest obstetric hospitalist services provider in the United States. IMCO also co-invested alongside Kohlberg in the acquisition of Area Wide Protective, the market leading provider of temporary traffic safety management services in the United States, and in the acquisition of Myers Emergency Power Systems, a market-leading designer and manufacturer of custom-engineered and regulated emergency backup power inverter solutions and smart control technologies.

ABOUT IMCO

The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) manages $79 billion of assets on behalf of its clients. Designed exclusively to drive better investment outcomes for Ontario's broader public sector, IMCO operates under an independent, not-for-profit, cost recovery structure. It provides leading investment management services, including portfolio construction advice, better access to a diverse range of asset classes and sophisticated risk management capabilities. As one of Canada's largest institutional investors, we invest around the world and execute large transactions efficiently. Our scale gives clients access to a well-diversified global portfolio, including sought-after private and alternative asset classes. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @imcoinvest.