Ontario Teachers fund to buy majority stake in Norwegian clothing brand Helly Hansen

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, one of Canada's largest pension funds, today agreed to buy a majority stake in Norwegian outdoor clothing brand Helly Hansen from Swedish private equity firm Altor Equity Partners.

The $117-billion fund did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, but said that it will acquire around 75 per cent of the Helly Hansen, 

Oslo, Norway-based Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is buying the stake through its private equity arm Teachers' Private Capital (TPC), and Altor would retain the remaining 25 per cent.

Altor, which had put Helly Hansen up for sale earlier this year, had attracted interest from major retailers including apparel giant VF Corp, US consumer products maker Jarden Corp, owner of Gucci and Puma - French luxury and retail group PPR, and Columbia Sportswear Co Reuters today reported, citing banking and industry sources.

Altor had acquired Helly Hansen in 2006 from Bahrain-based buyout fund Investcorp for reportedly around 800 million NOK.

Headquartered in Oslo with approximately 500 employees, Helly Hansen designs, develops and markets stylish and high-performance technical apparel.