Ontario Teachers' partially divests Busy Bees to Temasek

Ontario Teachers' will remain the majority shareholder in the business following the deal, which is expected to complete by the end of December.

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though unquote" understands Temasek has acquired a stake of around 25% in the business, with Ontario Teachers' making a partial exit.

Following the transaction, Busy Bees will pursue international expansion with a particular focus on the Asian market.

The business has undertaken an acquisitive growth strategy under Ontario Teachers' tenure. This year, it acquired UK-based Treetops Nurseries from Epiris – a transaction that generated proceeds of £93m for Epiris – and Canada-based BrightPath. It also formed a joint venture as part of its plans to expand in China.

Previous funding
Ontario Teachers' acquired Busy Bees in October 2013 in a deal reportedly valued at £220m. The company's management retained a minority stake in the business following the transaction.

Company
Based in Burntwood, Staffordshire, Busy Bees was founded in 1984. The business operates around 500 nurseries across the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and China. This is up from 213 at the time of Ontario Teachers' initial investment.

People
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan – Jo Taylor (senior managing director international).
Busy Bees – Simon Irons (CEO).

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• Ontario Teachers' Private Capital
• Partial sale