Ontario Teachers’ Acquires a Co-Control Stake in GPA Global

Hong Kong, September 19, 2022 – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (“Ontario Teachers’”) is pleased to announce it has acquired a co-control stake in GPA Global (“GPA”, or the “Company”) from EQT Private Equity (“EQT”) and other minority shareholders. GPA’s two founders, Tom Wang and Adam Melton, will roll over their respective ownership and continue to lead the Company. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

GPA is a leading full-service provider of premium packaging solutions to brands in North America and Europe, serving diversified end-markets including consumer electronics, beverage, jewelry, health and beauty. GPA offers design, engineering, vendor management, production, distribution of packaging and has manufacturing footprint in Asia, North America and Europe.

Raju Ruparelia, Senior Managing Director, Private Capital, Asia-Pacific at Ontario Teachers’ said: “We are excited to invest in GPA, our first co-control private equity investment in the region. We believe we are well positioned to support the company’s continued growth by leveraging our global reach and track record of success investing in the packaging and consumer sectors. We believe Tom and Adam have created a unique and differentiated packaging platform and look forward to a long-lasting partnership with them and GPA’s talented management team as the business enters its next stage of growth.”  

Tom Wang, co-founder and President of GPA, and Adam Melton, co-founder and CEO of GPA, jointly said: “We welcome Ontario Teachers’ and are eager to work with them to further build on the base we have created with EQT. Ontario Teachers’ global reach, longer term collaborative investment approach, and strong track record of relevant industry success makes them the ideal next partner for us and the Company. We look forward to working with the Ontario Teachers’ team as we work toward our objective of making GPA a globally recognized leader in sustainable packaging solutions.”

GPA is the latest investment by Ontario Teachers’ Private Capital team in Asia. Recent investments include Sahyadri Hospitals, the largest private hospital chain in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Greenstone, one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading insurance distributors, and Princeton Digital Group, a pan-Asian investor, operator and developer of data centres. Ontario Teachers’ also has substantial experience investing in the packaging sector, including recent investments in Logoplaste, a Portugal-based manufacturer of sustainable rigid plastics, and TricorBraun, a global packaging leader and North America’s largest distributor of primary packaging.

About GPA Global

Founded in 2009, GPA is dual-headquartered in Shenzhen and Seattle, with coverage in the US, the UK, Poland and Hong Kong. It provides full-service premium packaging solutions to brands in North America and Europe, serving diversified end-markets including consumer electronics, wine & liquor, jewelry, healthcare and beauty. It offers design, engineering, procurement, distribution of packaging and has manufacturing footprint in Asia, North America and Europe. For more information, visit https://www.gpaglobal.net/.

About Ontario Teachers’
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is a global investor with net assets of $242.5 billion as at June 30, 2022. We invest in more than 50 countries in a broad array of assets including public and private equities, fixed income, credit, commodities, natural resources, infrastructure, real estate and venture growth to deliver retirement income for 333,000 working members and pensioners.

With offices in Hong Kong, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 350 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.6% since the plan’s founding in 1990. At Ontario Teachers’, we don’t just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.

Contacts:

Dan Madge
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
Phone: +1 416-419-1437
Email: media@otpp.com