MONTREAL – La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are among a group of international institutional investors acquiring 33% of combined Three UK and O2 UK for a total consideration of £3.1 Billion.
The other investors are GIC of Singapore, Limpart Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and BTG Pactual of Brazil. The investments are conditional on and will occur concurrently with completion by Three of the acquisition of O2 UK from Telefonica and its combination with Three's businesses, which is in turn subject to EU Competition approvals. The full proceeds of the investment will be used, together with a committed bank facility of £6 Billion, to fund the acquisition of O2 UK from Telefonica which was announced on March 25, 2015.
"By financing the acquisition of O2 by Three, CDPQ is contributing to the creation of a new mobile telecommunications leader in the United Kingdom," said Andreas Beroutsos, CDPQ’s EVP private equity and infrastructure, in the news release. "Consistent with our orientation as a long-term investor, CDPQ invests strategically by partnering with Hutchison Whampoa Limited, a key industry player in the global marketplace."
"It is an honor to have such a strong collection of the world's largest and most sophisticated investors joining us as partners in building the combined business of Three and O2 UK, which will be the number one mobile operator in the UK with nearly 33 million customers”, added Canning Fok, group managing director of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. “The investors share our vision and belief in the value of creating a business with the necessary scale to enable us to compete effectively in the UK marketplace and to provide even better service and innovation using the largest and most resilient and advanced mobile network infrastructure in the country. Like us, the willingness of these investors to commit substantial capital to this investment reflects continued confidence in the UK economy and its commitment to maintain and foster a dynamic and world leading telecommunications sector, as well as a vote of confidence in Europe's plans for a single market in digital communications, leading to increased investment in the telecoms sector."
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans.
