CDPQ backs LCI Education’s family succession

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has provided an undisclosed loan to LCI Education, a Montreal-based network of higher education institutions. The loan’s proceeds will support several objectives, including a succession process launched by the Marchand family.

PRESS RELEASE

MONTRÉAL, June 18, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) announced an investment in the form of a loan to LCI Education, a large network of higher education institutions in Québec. The network has some 20 campuses around the world, including LaSalle College in Montréal, one of the largest bilingual colleges in North America that is known for its fashion, arts and design programs.

The financing provided by CDPQ aims to support LCI Education in achieving three key objectives for its development: accelerating its online education initiatives, pursuing its international expansion and succeeding in its family business succession process.

With LaSalle College, LCI Education is a pioneer in online education in Québec, an area of expertise it has cultivated for more than 20 years. The loan granted by CDPQ will help LCI further expand its well–established digital presence, as well as transform teaching and the student experience through new technology. Thanks to its accreditation by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES), LCI will offer new methods of instruction, both on campus and remotely, starting this fall.

In the last few years, LCI has implemented a structure and operational framework to execute an ambitious growth plan through international acquisitions. The LCI Education network comprises 23 higher education institutions spread over five continents, with approximately 3,000 employees providing instruction each year to more than 17,000 students worldwide. This additional financing will enable LCI to pursue the expansion of its international network from its head office in Montréal and identify new potential acquisitions.

In addition, through this transaction, CDPQ aims to support LCI in its family succession process, which was successfully launched by the Marchand family, the company’s owner.

“We are extremely proud to be able to rely on a strategic partner such as CDPQ in pursuing our international growth. Our goal is to offer the best possible learning experience to our students by maintaining a diversified, people-focused and forward-looking team and by capitalizing on new technology,” said Claude Marchand, President and CEO of LCI Education.

“LCI Education was a forerunner in its sector’s digital transformation, and we are delighted that this financing will enable the organization to refine its offering even further,” added Kim Thomassin, Executive Vice-President and Head of Investments in Québec and Stewardship Investing at CDPQ. “This transaction is also an opportunity to contribute to the international expansion of a leading Québec company going through a family succession process.”

ABOUT LCI EDUCATION
LCI Education traces its origins back to LaSalle College in Montréal, which was founded in 1959. Present today on 5 continents, the LCI Education network consists of 23 select higher education institutions, and some 3,000 employees offering instruction to over 17,000 students throughout the world each year. From one country to the next, LCI Education favours the harmonization of its programs, which makes for greater flexibility, better control over the quality of its services, and deeper respect towards the various cultures it works with.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2019, it held CAD 340.1 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.