Canada’s Teachers fund, Kirkbi to invest $614 mn in Danish facilities group ISS

Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Danish investment company Kirkbi A/S will invest 3.72 billion Danish crowns ($614 million) for a 26-per cent stake in Danish facilities group ISS.

Under a 105-crowns per share deal, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan will invest about 2.605 billion crowns ($430 million), and Kirkbi, the holding and investment company of Kirk Kristiansen family who have controlling stake in Lego toys, will invest 1.116 billion crowns ($184 million).

Copenhagen-based ISS is one of the world's largest facilities services providers with a market presence in over 60 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. It is the world's fourth-largest private sector employer having more than half a million people on its payroll.

It provides a wide range of services from cleaning and maintenance, transport and terminals, food hygiene, healthcare, catering and canteen management, front-desk receptionists to security guards and gardeners among others.

Private equity firms EQT Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, which acquired ISS in 2005, for around $4.5 billion, had in August 2010 planned to either sell ISS or go in for an initial public offering.

But after a failed IPO last year, it received a £5.2 billion ($8.2 billion) buyout offer in February 2011 from British security group G4S in order to create the world's largest security and facilities group. (See: UK security group G4S to acquire Denmark's facilities company ISS for $8.2 bln)