La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) has acquired a 27% stake in Hilco Trading, LLC (“Hilco Global”) and has entered into a long term additional investment arrangement.
Through this new partnership, CDPQ will support the long-term strategy and continued growth of Hilco Global, a leading authority on asset valuation, monetization and advisory solutions across the world. Furthermore, CDPQ will target additional investment of approximately US$150 million per annum, alongside Hilco Global, in distressed assets and other special situations.
Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Hilco Global said, “Our new partnership with CDPQ is a perfect fit for us both strategically and culturally. Management at CDPQ understands that our goal was to find a financial partner that would support our long term growth plans. CDPQ will serve as a key strategic investor in the capital-intensive deals that will fuel our continued expansion into several sectors including real estate, intellectual property, account receivables and retail and industrial asset transactions with both healthy and distressed companies.”
Paul McGowan, Executive Chairman of Hilco Capital Limited, based in London, said: “The partnership with CDPQ ensures that substantial amounts of additional, long term capital will be available to Hilco Capital at a time when levels of distress are growing in the retail and other sectors in the UK and across Europe. It is also a recognition of the skill and track record of our team here in the UK over the last 19 years.”
“Our investment is motivated by Hilco Global’s excellent reputation, track record and strong management team,” commented Stéphane Etroy, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity at CDPQ. “Hilco Global, whose role is to transition existing and often undervalued assets in challenged sectors into profitable use, directly benefits from the economic disruption taking place within companies around the world as a result of new technologies and changing consumer habits.Furthermore, this long term partnership is an excellent complement to CDPQ’s Distressed Debt strategy.”
About Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec -
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2018, it held CA$309.5 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt.