Canadian Teachers Fund Invests in UK Lottery
It was announced this week that the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (aka Teachers') has bought operators of the UK National Lottery, Camelot.
Camelot said it would need to final permission from the country's National Lottery and Commission before the acquisition could be finalized.
"Camelot is a world class lottery business with substantial opportunities to grow both domestically and internationally," said the Vice President for Long Term Equities for the Canadian teachers' fund.
Camelot has been running the UK National Lottery for 16 years - since 1994 - and had its decade-long license renewed last year.
The lottery operator's shareholders include big brands such as Fujitsu and Cadbury.
Since Camelot took the helms of the UK National Lottery, it has helped raise £24 billion for good causes.
Teachers' paid nearly $600 million for Camelot, it was reported.
"We welcome Teachers' commitment to the National Lottery's ongoing success," said Camelot.
Camelot's Chief Executive, Dianne Thompson said that the group "looked forward to the opportunity of working with them to continue our progress in developing the business and delivering even more money for the good causes."
The Royal Bank of Canada will be backing the deal by raising debt, but the pension fund refused to disclose any financial details.
The deal is expected to raise questions regarding the sale of British groups by foreign firms.
