Canada's CDPQ, Al Gore's Generation buy majority stake in fintech firm FNZ

[October 09, 2018]  (Reuters) - Canada's second-largest pension fund CDPQ and Generation Investment Management LLP said on Tuesday they were buying a majority stake in UK-based fintech firm FNZ in a deal valuing FNZ at 1.6 billion pounds ($2.09 billion).

CDPQ and Generation partnership will buy out two-thirds of FNZ owned by U.S. private equity firms General Atlantic and HIG Capital, while around 400 shareholding employees will continue to own a third of FNZ after the deal, they said.

The FNZ deal is the first of a $3 billion investment that CDPQ and Generation Investment, co-founded by former U.S. vice president Al Gore, plan to make over the next 8 to 15 years, according to a joint statement.

FNZ, founded in 2003 in New Zealand, and bought out by its management and HIG capital in 2009, provides its clients cloud-based wealth management platforms.

FNZ is currently responsible for more than 330 billion pounds of assets under administration held by its clients, including Standard Life Aberdeen, Santander, Lloyds Bank and Vanguard among others, the company said.

($1 = 0.7663 pounds)

(Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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