The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and CGI Group Inc. are entering into an agreement that allows the Montreal-based information technology consulting company to repurchase some of its shares from the pension fund.
CGI Group will repurchase 4,854,368 of its Class A shares held by the Caisse for $61.80 each. Once the transaction is completed, the pension fund will continue to hold about 46.2 million Class A shares, representing 16 per cent of the company’s total outstanding shares.
Read: Caisse invests $1 billion in IT company
“La Caisse rebalances its portfolio periodically, during the right conditions, to ensure our depositors capture the benefits from our portfolio’s gains,” said Christian Dubé, the Caisse’s executive vice-president for Québec, in a news release. “CGI has delivered excellent results for its shareholders, and this transaction is an opportunity to monetize a portion of our investment in the company.”
“We will continue to remain a significant shareholder of CGI, as we believe this important information technology leader is well-positioned to grow and succeed in the long term.”
The Quebec regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, agreed to exempt CGI from the issuer bid requirements under securities legislation applicable to the transaction, which will be made at a discount. It’s expected to be entered into later today and settled on Sept. 19.