Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Baring Private Equity Asia sign agreement to privatize Nord Anglia Education, Inc. for USD 4.3 billion

Key Highlights:Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) today announced their intention to purchase all outstanding shares of, and to privatize, Nord Anglia Education, Inc. (Nord Anglia), the world's leading premium schools organization, for a purchase price of USD 4.3 billion, including repayment of debtNord Anglia operates 43 leading private schools globally in 15 countries in China, Europe, Middle East, North America and South East AsiaFunds affiliated with BPEA are the majority shareholders of Nord Anglia and BPEA controls 67% of Nord Anglia’s issued and outstanding share capitalThe transaction is subject to shareholder approval and customary closing conditionsToronto, Canada/Hong Kong SAR – April 25, 2017: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and funds affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia today announced that they have signed an agreement with Nord Anglia Education to acquire all outstanding shares of Nord Anglia Education. Funds affiliated with BPEA are the majority shareholders of Nord Anglia and BPEA controls 67% of Nord Anglia’s issued and outstanding share capital. The transaction values Nord Anglia at USD 4.3 billion, including repayment of debt. The transaction is subject to shareholder approval and customary closing conditions.Nord Anglia is the world's leading premium schools organization. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nord Anglia was founded in 1972. Its 43 international schools are located in China, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia. Together, they educate more than 37,000 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary education. Providing high-quality education to both expatriates and local students in the markets where it operates, Nord Anglia attracts top teaching talent globally and has established collaborations with leading post-secondary institutions, including The Juilliard School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and King's College London.“This investment in Nord Anglia is an excellent fit with our strategy to build a diversified portfolio capable of delivering strong, sustainable returns to the Canada Pension Plan Fund over the long term. The company, backed by a strong management team, is well positioned to benefit from the rising demand for high-quality education in the kindergarten to grade 12 category globally, has demonstrated strong financial performance, delivers stable cash flows, and provides a platform for future growth in this sector,” said Deborah Orida, Managing Director, Head of Private Equity Asia, CPPIB. “This is CPPIB’s first direct equity investment in private education and through Nord Anglia we are able to gain both asset and geographical diversification.”Funds affiliated with BPEA have been investors in Nord Anglia since August 2008 when they completed a previous take private transaction alongside company management.“Our long-standing association with Nord Anglia during a tremendous period of sustained growth has been extremely rewarding. BPEA is passionate about making education of the highest quality available to children all over the world, and we believe Nord Anglia is the ideal partner to achieve that goal. After nine years, we have developed a thorough understanding of the business and have high conviction that Nord Anglia’s future is even more promising than its past,” commented Jean Eric Salata, Founding Partner and CEO of BPEA. “CPPIB is a partner that we know well and that shares our belief in the education sector and specifically Nord Anglia as a global leader in education. We look forward to growing Nord Anglia together”.As the world’s leading premium schools operator, Nord Anglia is well positioned for long-term growth, specifically:Its highly diversified global platform allows it to benefit from continued growth in the global premium kindergarten to grade 12(K-12) marketGlobal market leadership provides significant scale benefits, including  the ability to attract top teaching talent, forge prominent partnerships and deliver differentiated and high-quality education programs to its studentsThe highly fragmented nature of the global premium K-12 market, of which single-site operators comprise more than 85%, presents significant opportunities to grow the network  An experienced management team that has been with Nord Anglia on average for over a decade and led a period of significant growthStable cash flows through a track-record of high average student tenure and a retention rate of 98% (excluding graduations/relocations)About Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At December 31, 2016, the CPP Fund totalled $298.1 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.About Baring Private Equity AsiaBaring Private Equity Asia is one of the largest and most established independent alternative asset management firms in Asia, with a total committed capital of over USD10 billion. The firm runs a pan-Asian investment program, sponsoring buyouts and providing growth capital to companies for expansion or acquisitions, as well as a private credit and a pan-Asian real estate private equity investment program. The firm has been investing in Asia since its formation in 1997 and has over 140 employees located across offices in Hong Kong, China, India, Japan and Singapore.  Baring Asia currently has over 41 portfolio companies active across Asia with a total of 178,000 employees and sales of approximately $35 billion in 2016. For more information, please visit www.bpeasia.comAbout Nord Anglia Education Nord Anglia Education (NYSE: NORD) is the world's leading premium schools organization. Its 43 international schools are located in China, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North America. Together, they educate more than 37,000 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary education.  Nord Anglia Education is driven by one unifying philosophy - be ambitious of their students, their people and their family of schools. Its schools deliver a high quality education through a personalized approach enhanced with unique global opportunities to enable every student to succeed. Nord Anglia primarily operates in geographic markets with high foreign direct investment, large expatriate populations and rising disposable income. Nord Anglia believes that these factors contribute to high demand for premium schools and strong growth in our business.  Nord Anglia Education is headquartered in Hong Kong SAR, China. Its website is www.nordangliaeducation.com.