Toronto, ON (August
18, 2017) – Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) today announced it has signed an
agreement to participate in the acquisition of Calpine Corporation (Calpine),
one of the largest independent power generators in the United States. CPPIB will
make this investment as part of a consortium comprised of funds advised by
Energy Capital Partners and other investors for US$5.6 billion in cash. The transaction
is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval and other customary closing
conditions. CPPIB will invest US$750
million.
Headquartered
in Houston, Texas, Calpine has 80 power plants in operation or under
construction with the capacity to generate approximately 26,000 megawatts of
electricity from geothermal and natural gas resources – enough to power
approximately 20 million homes. Calpine’s 13 geothermal geyser assets in
northern California are one of the largest sources of renewable energy in the
state. Calpine also sells electricity to residential, commercial and industrial
customers through the Calpine Solutions and Champion Energy retail platforms.
“This
investment aligns well with our strategy to expand our natural resources
portfolio to include power and renewable assets,” said Avik Dey, Managing
Director, Head of Natural Resources, CPPIB. “Calpine owns and operates one of
the most efficient fleets of natural gas power plants in the U.S. serving
critical markets in California, Texas and the Eastern U.S. Coupled with the reliable
generation of renewable geothermal energy, Calpine’s modern approach to energy
production is ideally positioned for ongoing success. We are pleased to partner
with Energy Capital Partners, a leader in the energy infrastructure space, on
this transaction.”
About Canada Pension
Plan Investment Board
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 June 30, 2017, the CPP Fund totalled C$326.5 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn
or Twitter.
Article Contacts
CPPIB
Mei Mavin
Director, Global
Corporate Communications
T: +1 646 564 4920
mmavin@cppib.com
Dan Madge
Senior
Manager, Media Relations
T:
+1 416 868 8629
dmadge@cppib.com