Teachers’ Private Capital, the private equity arm of the $79-billion Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has win this year’s ‘Deal of the Year’ award for its investment in Yellow Pages Group.

Established in 1998 by the Canadian Venture Capital Association, the ‘Deal of the Year Award’ celebrates the achievements of Canadian companies backed by CVCA members. The selection process focuses on firms with the most significant return during the last twelve months ending June 30, 2004.

“The investment in November 2002 has generated a gain, for Teachers’ Private Capital, of over $500 million on its original investment of $320 million,” said Claude Haw, Chairman of CVCA’s Deal of the Year Committee. “The Yellow Pages Group successfully closed its $1 billion initial public offering in August 2003. This was the largest IPO of an Income Trust in Canadian history.”

Representing 250,000 teachers in Ontario with a portfolio of over $4.5 billion, Teachers’ Private Capital is one of Canada’s largest private investors working with more than 100 companies around the world.

Dean Metcalf, Vice-President of Teachers’ Private Capital, accepted the honour at the CVCA’s AGM Dinner in Toronto on September 22, 2004. “We were pleased to back Marc Tellier, CEO of Yellow Pages Group, in the acquisition. The Yellow Pages is an icon in every household in Ontario and Quebec, and was very attractive to us as a stable business with substantial cash flows. The original purchase price for the transaction was $3 billion, making it Canada’s largest private equity transaction.”