The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is acquiring a 50 per cent stake in a network of European ophthalmology clinics.

The pension fund has entered a joint venture with French private equity investment firm PAI Partners to buy Veonet.

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The deal has been approved by its current owner, the Swedish private equity firm Nordic Capital, but must still be approved by regulators. It’s expected to close in early 2022.

Veonet, which is based in Munich, operates 190 ophthalmology clinics in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.K. To date, its clinics have treated 1.2 million patients.