La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec participates in WSP's growth strategy by investing $40 million

MONTREAL, March 12, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - La  Caisse  de  dépôt  et  placement  du  Québec  announced today a $40-million equity investment in WSP, one of the world's leading engineering firms, formerly known as GENIVAR.

As announced earlier today by WSP, this investment is tied to the acquisition of Focus, an Alberta-based engineering company specializing in energy and natural resources. This acquisition will allow WSP to enhance its competencies and deepen its expertise in sectors complementary to its core business.

"Through this investment, La Caisse is supporting a world-class player, one that is well established in Québec, as it implements its acquisition-based growth strategy," said Normand Provost, Executive Vice-President, Private Equity, at La Caisse. "The injection of capital in WSP will also generate attractive returns for our clients. By strengthening its expertise in the energy and natural resources sector, WSP will be positioned to profit from substantially growing energy needs worldwide."

"By once again supporting our growth strategy to make WSP, an international firm with a Montréal-based head office, into a global industry leader, La Caisse is giving us a real vote of confidence with this new investment," commented Pierre Shoiry, President and Chief Executive Officer of WSP. "This financing will enable us to forge ahead with acquisitions in Canada and abroad, creating long-term value for shareholders."

In 2012, La Caisse invested $98.5 million in GENIVAR as part of the WSP Group acquisition. Through this successful integration, GENIVAR broadened its presence on all continents and strengthened its positioning in global markets. One year earlier, La Caisse also invested close to $80 million in GENIVAR to support growth.

ABOUT WSP
WSP is one of the world's leading professional services firms, working with governments, businesses, architects and planners and providing integrated solutions across many disciplines. The firm provides services to transform the built environment and restore the natural environment, and its expertise ranges from environmental remediation to urban planning, from engineering iconic buildings to designing sustainable transport networks, and from developing the energy sources of the future to enabling new ways of extracting essential resources. It has approximately 15,000 employees, mainly engineers, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, surveyors, other design professionals, as well as various environmental experts, based in more than 300 offices, across 30 countries, on 5 continents. www.wspgroup.com

ABOUT LA CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2013, it held $200.1 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, La Caisse invests in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate, globally. For more information: www.lacaisse.com.

SOURCE: Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Please note that the technical details of the transaction are available in the press release issued earlier today by WSP.

For more information: 
Jean-Benoît Houde
Senior Adviser, Media Relations
514 847-5493
[email protected]