The Investment Management Corp. of Ontario is increasing its exposure to private equity, with plans to increase its exposure to the asset class to more than $6 billion by 2026.
This year, the investment organization made about $2.3 billion in private equity transactions after starting the year with $2.7 billion in private equity assets — or about 3.7 per cent of its total portfolio. It also added four strategic partners by making four new fund commitments totalling nearly $1.5 billion and completing seven direct equity and co-investment deals with new and existing partners totalling nearly $800 million in a record year.
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The IMCO’s private equity team has traditionally focused on the buyout segment of the market, including companies in North America and Europe with strong management teams. According to a press release, the private equity team will broaden its approach by investing in the industrial, service and consumer sectors in the coming years.
“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 2021 was a year of record execution of our growth strategy and we are delighted to partner with like-minded investors and managers to add value and help portfolio companies achieve their full potential,” said Craig Ferguson, managing director of private equity at the IMCO, in the release.
Read: Coronavirus to reshape mid-market private equity dynamics in year ahead