Ontario Teachers’ to acquire minority interest in Greenstone

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has agreed to acquire a 33.4 percent interest in Greenstone, a Sydney, Australia-based insurance distributor. No financial terms were disclosed. As a result of the deal, existing investors Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and HIBV will hold a reduced stake in the company.

PRESS RELEASE

Sydney (AUS), Toronto (Ont.) and Montréal (Qué.) – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) announced today it has reached an agreement to acquire a 33.4% interest in Greenstone, one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading insurance distributors.
Headquartered in Sydney, and established in 2007, Greenstone has focused on developing simple and affordable life and general insurance products for Australians and New Zealanders. This positioning has enabled Greenstone to quickly become a leader in the direct distribution of insurance products with over 650,000 in force policies. Its unique customer-focused and technology-driven approach has earned the Company extensive industry awards and recognition.

Ontario Teachers’ investment represents a full exit by co-founder Gavin Donnelly, while the other two major shareholders, HIBV, and CDPQ, a global investment group, will sell-down pro-rata and collectively own the remaining interest. Ontario Teachers’ looks forward to working collaboratively with HIBV and CDPQ to reinforce Greenstone’s mission to bring innovative insurance products to Australian and New Zealand consumers.

“We are excited to add another long-term investor in Ontario Teachers’ to our register. We believe they are an ideal sponsor given their deep expertise investing in leading financial services businesses and value-added partnership model. This significant commitment from Ontario Teachers’ further validates the quality of our proposition and our commitment to the long-term growth of the business”, said Brenard Grobler, Greenstone CEO.
“The investment in Greenstone is consistent with our strategy of investing in industry-leading financial services businesses with high-quality management teams and innovative technology. We look forward to working closely with management and our partners and contributing to the company’s continued success”, said Ben Chan, Senior Managing Director, Asia-Pacific at Ontario Teachers’.

“We are delighted to have Ontario Teachers’ joining us as a new investor in Greenstone. We have a close working relationship, having together successfully invested in companies and demonstrated our commitment to ESG initiatives over the years”, said Martin Laguerre, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Capital Solutions at CDPQ. “Greenstone is an industry leader in the insurance sector, a key focus for CDPQ, that we are pleased to support since 2016. We look forward to cooperating with Ontario Teachers’ and the management team as the business progresses into its next stage of growth”.

Both Ontario Teachers’ and CDPQ are significant investors in Australia and New Zealand. With a diverse portfolio in private equity, infrastructure and natural resources, Ontario Teachers’ has recently invested in Abano Healthcare Group and Asia Pacific Healthcare Group. For its part, CDPQ has been active in infrastructure, logistics real estate and private equity. Recent investments include Healthscope, a private hospital operator, and Sydney Metro.

The Transaction is subject to Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board approval and other closing conditions.

ABOUT GREENSTONE
Greenstone specialises in harnessing technology and data analytics in order to design, market, distribute and administer personal insurance products. Greenstone offers products in the life, funeral, income protection, pet and general insurance markets. These insurance products are distributed through Greenstone’s proprietary brands (Real Insurance, Australian Seniors, New Zealand Seniors, OneChoice, Guardian Insurance and Prime Pet Insurance) and affinity brands (Medibank, ahm, Woolworths, Guide Dogs Pet Insurance and RSPCA Pet Insurance). In addition, Greenstone also distributes its proprietary, affinity and third party insurance products, through its online comparison website.