The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Swiss Re Investments Holding Co. Ltd. are purchasing common shares in a Canadian property and casualty insurance company in its initial public offering.
The gross proceeds from Definity Financial Corp.’s IPO are expected to be about $2.1 billion. The IPO is being made in connection with the conversion of Economical Mutual Insurance Co. from a mutual insurance company to a firm with share capital pursuant to the Insurance Companies Act, according to a press release. Following this demutualization, Definity will be Economical’s parent company.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved the listing of the common shares, subject to Definity fulfilling certain listing requirements and conditions.
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In other investment news, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, alongside several partners, is participating in the first closing of asset manager Sagard’s mid-market private equity fund with commitments totalling $200 million.
In advance of the fund’s first closing, Sagard announced its first investment in September, with the acquisition of Groupe LOU-TEC Inc., a Montreal-based company that rents heavy machinery, specialized equipment and tools used in construction, renovation and maintenance of commercial, industrial, institutional and residential buildings.
“With this investment, we support the creation of a new fund that will target the expansion of local [small- and medium-sized enterprises],” said Mario Therrien, head of investment funds and external management at the Caisse, in a press release. “A complement to CDPQ’s efforts with Quebec mid-caps, this fund will help expand the number of companies we work with and allow them to achieve their growth objectives.”
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