Busy Bees announces new strategic investment by Temasek

Partnership will support expansion of Busy Bees' footprint in Asia and across the globe
Ontario Teachers' remains as majority shareholder in the company

Burntwood – Busy Bees, a leading international provider of premium quality child care headquartered in the UK, today announced the addition of a new partner, Singapore-headquartered investment company Temasek.
Temasek will acquire a strategic minority stake in Busy Bees, with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan [Ontario Teachers'] remaining the company's majority shareholder. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2017.

The announcement of the partnership follows a transformational year for the business, during which it further established itself as a leading international platform for child care. Over the course of 2017, Busy Bees strengthened its position in the UK and internationally through the acquisitions of Treetops Nurseries in the UK and BrightPath in Canada, and through the formation of a joint venture in China.

"We remain indebted to our founders who created our ethos of providing innovative high quality care and learning opportunities for children.  We are also grateful to Ontario Teachers', who have supported our ambitions over the past four years and have been, and continue to be, a truly exceptional partner. Temasek's international expertise and insight will help us to accelerate our global growth both in Asia and elsewhere even further" said Simon Irons, CEO of Busy Bees.  "We are excited that this will enable Busy Bees to provide opportunities for more children to access our high quality childcare."

"Our strategy is to work with strong, like-minded investors and management teams. The addition of Temasek as a strategic partner comes as we seek to unlock new opportunities across key markets and allows Busy Bees to continue its path of expansion, particularly in Asia," said Jo Taylor, Senior Managing Director International at Ontario Teachers'.

About Busy Bees

Busy Bees, majority owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, is a leading international UK-headquartered provider of premium quality child care, caring for over 50,000 children across nearly 500 nurseries in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and China. Founded in 1984, Busy Bees are committed to delivering high quality care and early years learning designed to give every child the best start in life for and to provide essential support to parents.

For more information on Busy Bees, please visit www.busybeeschildcare.co.uk.

About Temasek

Incorporated in 1974, Temasek is an investment company headquartered in Singapore. Supported by 10 offices internationally, Temasek owns a S$275 billion (US$197 billion, £158 billion) portfolio as at 31 March 2017.
Its portfolio covers a broad spectrum of industries: financial services; telecommunications, media & technology; transportation & industrials; consumer & real estate; life sciences & agribusiness; as well as energy & resources. Its investment activities are guided by four investment themes and the long-term trends they represent: Transforming Economies; Growing Middle Income Populations; Deepening Comparative Advantages; and Emerging Champions.

For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg.

About Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers')

Ontario Teachers' is Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, with C$180.5 billion in net assets at June 30, 2017. It holds a diverse global portfolio of assets, 80% of which is managed in-house, and has earned an annualized rate of return of 10.1% since the plan's founding in 1990. Ontario Teachers' is an independent organization headquartered in Toronto. Its Asia-Pacific region office is located in Hong Kong and its Europe, Middle East & Africa region office is in London. The defined-benefit plan, which is fully funded, invests and administers the pensions of the province of Ontario's 318,000 active and retired teachers.
For more information on Ontario Teachers', please visit www.otpp.com.

Media contacts

For Busy Bees – Papillon PR
Katie Whirledge
+44 (0) 7973 800234
kt@papillonpr.co.uk

For Ontario Teachers' – CNC Communications
Matthew Thomlinson
+44 (0) 20 3219 8818
matthew.thomlinson@cnc-communications.com