After the transaction, CDPQ will hold about 3.5 per cent of Couche-Tard’s outstanding shares.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is reducing its stake in Alimentation Couche-Tard by about 20 per cent as part of a buyout announced Tuesday.
Couche-Tard reported a deal under which the retailer purchased for cancellation nearly 8.7 million common shares held by CDPQ at a price of $80.50 per share, for a total of approximately $700 million.
After the buy-back, CDPQ will hold approximately 32.8 million shares, or around 3.5 per cent of Couche-Tard’s outstanding shares, the statement said.
Chief financial officer Filipe Da Silva argued that the company’s healthy balance sheet and strong financial position allowed it “to be well positioned for opportunities like this to deploy excess cash on hand.”
The Caisse explained the move as being “made in connection with the periodic portfolio rebalancing of CDPQ.”
After the transaction, CDPQ will remain one of the main shareholders of Alimentation Couche-Tard with a stake totalling $2.7 billion, said Caisse executive vice-president Kim Thomassin, and will “continue to support the expansion of this international leader.”
“The proceeds of this monetization will be reinvested in other companies in Quebec,” she added.