Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Enters Into Agreement To Acquire Wilton Re

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Wilton Re is a provider of life insurance and reinsurance solutions to the U.S. life insurance market and a leading acquirer of closed blocks of life insurance policies. Since its inception in 2005, Wilton Re has successfully invested over US$1.7 billion in a variety of strategic in force reinsurance and M&A transactions.

“In making a long-term investment in Wilton Re, CPPIB views the company as an ideal platform through which CPPIB can deploy significant follow-on capital at scale in the U.S. life insurance sector,” said André Bourbonnais, Senior Vice-President, Private Investments, CPPIB. “Closed-block life insurance is an asset class with attractive risk-adjusted returns, well-suited to our long-term horizon.”

“CPPIB ownership positions the company for growth and enhances our service offerings to clients and policyholders,” said Wilton Re Chairman and CEO, Chris Stroup. “CPPIB represents the next phase for Wilton Re – a strategic owner, committed to our business model, with a very long term investment horizon and unparalleled capital resources. Under CPPIB ownership, we anticipate the capital resources necessary to accelerate growth and expand our core In Force Solutions and middle market insurance, and enhance our competitiveness overall.”

“We are investing alongside and share a common vision with Wilton Re’s management team, led by Chris Stroup, and together we plan to invest further capital into the business to support its continued growth for many years to come. As a AAA rated long-term investor, we believe CPPIB is an ideal shareholder for Wilton Re’s employees, policyholders and client partners,” said Mr. Bourbonnais.

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 18 million Canadian 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 London, Hong Kong, New York City and São Paulo, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At December 31, 2013, the CPP Fund totalled C$201.5 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com.

About Wilton Re
Wilton Re is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and specializes in the acquisition and management of blocks of in force life insurance and annuities, as well as with assisting life insurance clients with product development, underwriting, and new business strategies for the middle market. Through its U.S. Holding Company, Wilton Re U.S. Holdings Inc., Wilton Re focuses on the U.S. life insurance market where the company provides risk capital and related services including M&A, reinsurance and longevity risk management. Wilton Re also partners with companies to implement new business strategies for middle market sales, with an emphasis on worksite, senior market and simplified term life insurance products. Wilton Re’s U.S. operations are centred in Wilton, Connecticut, with additional offices in Nashville, Tennessee and Waco, Texas. As of December 31, 2013, Wilton Re had US$8.2 billion of total assets, US$1.2 billion of operating revenue and US$1.4 billion of US GAAP equity. For more information about Wilton Re, please visit www.wiltonre.com.

For More Information
Linda Sims
+1 (416) 868-8695
lsims@cppib.com