Teachers' sells 10% of Maple Leaf Foods

Reduces ownership to 25%

TORONTO, Aug. 10 /CNW/ - The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') today announced that it is selling 3,400,000 voting common shares and 10,300,000 non-voting common shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI) and 2,193,913 warrants exercisable into voting common shares of MFI to a fund managed by West Face Capital Inc.

Following the transaction, which represents the sale of all Teachers' non-voting common shares and warrants exercisable into voting common shares, the fund's beneficial ownership and control of securities of MFI will be reduced from approximately 36.27% (calculated on a partially-diluted basis) to 25.23%.

"While we have been a long-term and supportive investor of MFI, this sale opportunity was in the best interests of the fund and our members', on whose behalf we invest," said Neil Petroff, Executive Vice-President, Investments. He added, "We will still consider all of our options with respect to our remaining MFI shareholdings, but our current intention is to work with the company to maximize the value of our investment."

With this share disposal, Teachers' will continue to beneficially own and control 34,513,155 voting common shares representing approximately 25.23% of the outstanding voting common shares of MFI.

Teachers' continues to oppose the MFI shareholder rights plan.

With $96.4 billion in assets as of December 31, 2009, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 284,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information visit www.otpp.com.

For further information: Deborah Allan, Director, Communications, [phone], [email protected]