The Caisse boosts Industrial Alliance investment

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has announced its acquisition of six million common shares of Industrial Alliance, Insurance and Financial Services Inc., representing an additional investment of close to $200 million in the Quebec-based company.

The shares are about 7% of the insurance company’s overall capital base of more than 84 million common shares.

In a separate release, Industrial Alliance said the private placement at $33.31 a share is valued at $199.9 million in gross proceeds—or $192.4 million after financing fees.

The private placement is slated to close Thursday and the money will be added to company’s capital and used for general corporate purposes.

Industrial Alliance is Canada’s fourth-largest life insurance company and manages and administers over $70 billion in assets.