Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Joins Investor Consortium to Buy Data Center Operator

The $115 billion (C$117.1 billion) Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan (OTTP) has partnered with private equity firms Providence Equity and Madison Dearborn and with Canadian communications giant BCE Inc. to acquire Q9 Networks, a Canadian data center operator, for C$1.1 billion.

OTTP and the two private equity firms will contribute 70%, or C$420 million, of the funding with BCE providing the remaining 30%. OTTP declined to offer a further breakdown of its ownership stake.

“Our direct investing goal is to identify companies around the world that we can grow and add value to over the long term,” Deborah Allan, Director of Communications and Media Relations at OTTP, told aiCIO. “We feel that the Q9 opportunity is an ideal match for that goal, which ultimately is designed to help us to pay our 300,000 members’ pensions.”

OTTP’s investment is part of the fund’s $12.2 billion allocation to private equity. The fund’s website boasts that its private capital portfolio has generated an internal rate of return of 19.3% since its inception in 1991.

“This is a unique opportunity to partner with the world-class management team at Q9 and with Bell, the leading communications provider in Canada. We look forward to supporting Q9’s continued growth with Bell, and adding lasting value at the company,” a statement released by the investor group said.