Ontario Teachers’ Agrees on Purchasing GCAN Insurance Co.

Teachers’ Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has agreed to purchase GCAN Insurance Company, a Canadian property and casualty insurer, for an undisclosed price from TORQUEST PARTNERS Inc., Newport Capital Insurance LP, CIBC Capital Partners, a division of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and management.

GCAN Insurance Company, founded in 1955, focuses on commercial and industrial insurance through a network of independent brokers, underwriting $221 million in gross premiums in 2004. GCAN employs more than 100 people in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

The transaction is expected to close in early October and is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions.