The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is selling its majority stake in apparel company Helly Hansen to Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.
After six years of ownership of the Oslo-based designer and marketer of outdoor and work apparel, Ontario Teachers’ is selling its stake in the company that owns and operates Helly Hansen for $985 million.
“Over the past six years Ontario Teachers’ has worked proactively with the Helly Hansen team to build a strong financial and strategic footing for the company,” said Jo Taylor, Ontario Teachers’ senior managing director for international. “The excellent financial performance of the business, driven by a market-leading position in its core categories, is a testament to the success of that partnership.”
As part of the deal, Canadian Tire is assuming about $50 million of operating debt. “For more than 10 years, Helly Hansen has been an exceptional fit with CTC, and this acquisition will strengthen our assortment across all of our banners,” said Stephen Wetmore , president and chief executive officer of Canadian Tire.
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“With our capabilities and Helly Hansen’s trusted global brand and management team, we see tremendous opportunity for CTC and Helly Hansen, in Canada and internationally.”
In other investment news, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is acquiring Britain-based recruiting firm Alexander Mann Solutions from investment manager New Mountain Capital for about $1.4 billion. The outsourcing and consulting company helps clients, typically large international businesses, to recruit and retain talent through multi-year contracts. The deal involves OMERS’ private equity arm and includes participation by Alexander Mann’s management team.
“With OMERS support, we can strengthen our global total workforce proposition and critically, accelerate our digital transformation and investment in robotics and [artificial intelligence], creating an even more compelling proposition for our customers around the world,” said Rosaleen Blair, chief executive officer of Alexander Mann.