Teachers' completes US$400-million investment in leading Korean insurance company

News provided by

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Jun 21, 2012, 04:00 ET

TORONTO, June 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of a 9.9% stake in Kyobo Life Insurance Co. Ltd. (Kyobo), the third-largest insurer in South Korea.

Teachers' is acquiring the stake from Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) for approximately US$400 million (KRW 468.1 billion) following a sales process initiated by KAMCO earlier this year.

Headquartered in Seoul, Kyobo is a privately held company that offers a broad range of life insurance products to its 4.5 million retail customers. This transaction is Teachers' first direct investment in Korea and was led by Public Equities' Relationship Investing group, which acquires significant minority stakes in both publicly-listed and private companies. Relationship Investing currently has a range of direct investments throughout Asia including in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Kyobo is a leading insurance brand with a strong customer base and financial performance," said Wayne Kozun, Senior Vice-President of Public Equities. "We believe our investment is a unique opportunity to acquire a sizeable stake in the Korean life insurance industry's most profitable company, and further expand our direct investments in Asia. We look forward to being a constructive partner with Kyobo, its management team and its shareholders."

About Teachers'
With $117.1 billion in assets as of December 31, 2011, 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 300,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information visit www.otpp.com

About KAMCO
KAMCO is a Korean quasi governmental entity established to restructure corporations, manage state-owned properties and collect overdue taxes. KAMCO serves the development of Korea's economy, maximizing government revenue by effectively managing government commissioned state-owned properties.

Deborah Allan
Director, Communications and Media Relations
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
+1 416-730-5347
[email protected]

Organization Profile

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is a global investor with net assets of $247.2 billion as at December 31, 2022. We invest in more than 50 countries in a broad array of assets including public and private equities, fixed income, credit, commodities,...