The Caisse contributes $50 million to the financing of Cogeco Cable
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec announced a $50-million contribution, in the form of a term loan, to the financing of Cogeco Cable, a Québec telecommunications company specialized in residential and commercial cable distribution.
The Caisse’s contribution is part of the $650-million private financing, announced earlier today by the company, to acquire PEER 1 Network Enterprises, Inc. Based in Vancouver, this Internet infrastructure supplier specializes in managed hosting and cloud services. The acquisition of PEER 1 will enable Cogeco Cable to diversify its service offering and serve an additional 10,000 businesses worldwide through 19 data centres and 21 network points of presence across North America and Europe.
“By participating in the financing of Cogeco Cable, the Caisse encourages the growth of this major player in the cable distribution industry by enabling it to expand its suite of network and hosting services,” said Marc Cormier, Executive Vice-President, Fixed Income at the Caisse. “In addition to enhancing its presence in a booming sector, this acquisition will allow the Québec company to scale up and increase the scope of its operations, particularly in global markets.”
“Cogeco Cable is pleased to be able to count on a partner like the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec as we implement our development plans in the Internet infrastructure market, business sector,” explained Louis Audet, President and CEO of Cogeco Cable. “The acquisition of PEER 1, one of the world’s leading hosting providers, is fully consistent with the achievement of one of our main strategic objectives.”
ABOUT COGECO CABLE
Cogeco Cable (www.cogeco.ca) is a telecommunications corporation and is the second largest hybrid fibre coaxial cable operator in Ontario and Québec. Through its two-way broadband cable networks, Cogeco Cable provides its residential customers with Analogue and Digital Television, High Speed Internet (“HSI”) and Telephony services. Cogeco Cable is also present in the United States through its subsidiary, Atlantic Broadband, whose head office is located in Quincy, Massachusetts. Atlantic Broadband is ranked the 12th largest cable television system operator in the United States and serves the following areas: Western Pennsylvania, Southern Florida, Maryland, Delaware and South Carolina. In addition, Cogeco Cable provides commercial customers, through its subsidiary Cogeco Data Services, with data networking, e-business applications, video conferencing, hosting services, Ethernet, private line, VoIP, HSI access, data storage, data security, co-location services, managed IT services, cloud services and other advanced communication solutions. Cogeco Cable's subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CCA).
ABOUT THE CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is a financial institution that manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2011, it held $159.0 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, the Caisse invests in major financial markets, private equity and real estate. For more information: www.cdpq.com.