CPPIB Takes Stake in Gassled Joint Venture

A consortium of investors including CPPIB has completed the acquisition of a 24.1% stake in the Gassled Joint Venture from Statoil ASA. The buyer is Solveig Gas Norway AS, a holding company that is approximately 40% owned by CPPIB; 30% by Allianz Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Allianz SE; and 30% by Infinity Investments SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The total value of the transaction is approximately C$3.18 billion.

PRESS RELEASE
CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today that a consortium including CPPIB has completed the acquisition of a 24.1% stake in the Gassled Joint Venture (Gassled) from Statoil ASA. The consortium entered into an agreement to acquire this stake in June 2011.

The buyer is Solveig Gas Norway AS, a holding company that is approximately 40% owned by CPPIB, 30% by Allianz Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Allianz SE, and 30% by Infinity Investments SA, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The total value of the transaction as announced on June 6, 2011 is NOK 17.35 billion or approximately C$3.18 billion.

Andre Bourbonnais, Senior Vice-President, Private Investments for CPPIB, said, “We are pleased to close this significant transaction alongside our consortium partners. Gassled is a good fit with CPPIB’s infrastructure portfolio and long-term investment strategy, and we look forward to becoming an important strategic partner in the future development of the Gassled network.”

Established in 2003, Gassled is an unincorporated joint venture which owns the majority of the gas transport infrastructure on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It is a core infrastructure asset and a strategic asset in the Northwestern Europe energy landscape. Gassled is expected to benefit from the growth in European gas demand and Norway’s long term position as a key supplier of gas to Europe.

About CPP Investment Board

The CPP Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits on behalf of 18 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, the CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, inflation-linked bonds, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London and Hong Kong, the CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At September 30, 2011, the CPP Fund totaled $152.3 billion.