La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec invests $500 million in Manulife Financial Corporation

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 3, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec today announced a $500‑million equity investment in Manulife Financial Corporation to contribute to the financing of the latter's acquisition of the Canadian operations of Standard Life.

Standard Life plc, a provider of long-term savings, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, decided to withdraw from Canada earlier this year and put its Canadian operations up for sale.

With this investment, La Caisse partners with a Canadian leader which, for its part, is committed to increasing its presence in Québec and using the cutting-edge expertise developed by Standard Life in Montréal to make inroads nationally and even globally.

"In making this acquisition, Manulife intends to draw on the expertise of Standard Life in Montréal to speed up its growth," said Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer of La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. "By capitalizing on these strengths, Manulife is committed to reinforcing Montréal as a financial centre. This promise, coupled with the prospect of attractive returns for our clients, are the reasons why we have decided to invest in this transaction."

The investment brings La Caisse's interest in Manulife to more than $1 billion, making it one of the largest shareholders in the company. "This transaction strengthens our partnership with a financial services leader and will enable us to pursue a continuing dialogue with a financial services company committed to playing a key role in Québec," said Mr. Sabia.

ABOUT LA CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
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. As at June 30, 2014, it held $214.7 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, La Caisse invests in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate, globally. For more information: www.lacaisse.com.

SOURCE: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Maxime Chagnon, Senior Director, Media and Public Relations, 514 847-5493, [email protected]