Pension Pulse

Yantoultra Ngui and Roushni Nair of Reuters report Cyan Renewables buys Australian vessel operator MMA Offshore for A$1.1 bln: Singapore's Cyan Renewables, which operates vessels for offshore wind farms, said on Thursday it has bought MMA Offshore for A$1.1 billion ($726 million) in the largest takeover deal in this renewables segment in the Asia Pacific region so far this year. MMA shareholders will receive A$2.70 per share in cash, a 36% premium over its 90-day average price, according to a joint statement from Cyan and Australia-based MMA. Cyan, which is backed by infrastructure investor Seraya Partners, had initially offered A$2.60 per MMA share in March before sweetening the offer last month. In a separate statement, MMA said the scheme of arrangement between the company and its shareholders for Cyan's acquisition has been implemented and the delisting of MMA is expected to take effect on Friday. MMA's shares have climbed almost 44% this year, gi

Hannah Zhang of Secondaries Investors reports on how CDPQ used the secondaries market to address overallocation: For Canadian pension giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec , the secondaries market has played an indispensable role in rebalancing its private equity portfolio. CDPQ generated C$9 billion ($6.5 billion; €6 billion) in liquidity last year, including roughly C$6 billion from selling direct investments and receiving dividend recapitalisations, and around C$3 billion from selling private equity fund stakes in the secondaries market, head of PE Martin Longchamps tells affiliate title Private Equity International. Secondaries sales were part of Longchamps’ efforts to bring the pension’s PE allocation back on target. When he took over as CDPQ’s head of PE in late 2022, the institution’s allocation to private equity had reached 20 percent for the first time in its investment history, raising concerns over potential overallocation issues. From the start of his ten

James Bradshaw of the Globe and Mail reports OMERS sells LifeLabs to U.S.-based Quest Diagnostics for $1.35-billion: Toronto-based pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has reached a deal to sell the country’s largest medical testing company, LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services, to U.S.-based Quest Diagnostics Inc. for $1.35-billion including debt. Secaucus, N.J.-based Quest is buying all of LifeLabs’ equity using cash and debt, and expects LifeLabs will generate about $970-million in annual revenue. LifeLabs will keep its brand, its Canadian headquarters and its management team after the acquisition closes, which is expected to happen by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. Quest also plans to keep patients’ health data stored in Canada, according to a joint statement. After the deal closes, however, Canada’s concentrated market for lab testing will be further controlled by U.S. owners. LifeLabs is Canada’s leading laborato

Sarah Rundell of Top1000Funds reports UN pension fund slashes equity and pushes into impact and venture: The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) recently reduced the allocation to equity in its $92.5 billion portfolio by 10 per cent in what Pedro Guazo, representative of the secretary-general (RSG) for the investment of the UNJSPF assets, describes as a conservative strategic allocation in response to the overvaluation in tech. Behind the defensive exterior, the fund is stepping into new allocations in venture, impact, and private credit as well as developing more sophisticated strategies in an increased allocation to fixed income. It speaks to a state of confidence after sharp losses in 2022 at the pension fund that is still in an accumulation phase; supported by a funded ratio of 111 per cent and boasts a large and growing investment team who all have skin in the game as beneficiaries. “We are in a strong position compared to peers,” reflects Guazo who has

Karen Friar and Ines Ferré of Yahoo Finance report stocks slip en route to sharp weekly losses for S&P 500, Nasdaq: US stocks fell on Friday as worries over a global IT outage calmed, with Wall Street looking for recovery from a sell-off that saw the Dow snap a run of wins and a tech rout continue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped roughly 1%, coming off a drop of over 1% for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8%. Stocks are facing weekly losses after a wobbly handful of sessions that saw a dive in techs, with AI-focused chip stocks bearing the brunt. Investors are rotating out of the tech heavyweights that have fueled the recent rally and into small caps , seen by some as benefiting more from interest-rate cuts . In the early hours, investors assessed the potential impact of an "unprecedented" failure in computer systems worldwide that grounded flights and hit banks, telecoms and media compan