Private Markets Group Continues Commitments to Three Specialized Funds, Totaling the Equivalent of $431 Million

The CPP Investment Board today announced commitments to two current private equity partners and an additional commitment to a partner investing in infrastructure assets.

The CPP Investment Board's additional commitments to existing private equity partners are:

• US$150 million to MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners (Cayman) II L.P., a fund managed by MatlinPatterson Asset Management with offices in New York, London and Hong Kong. The fund is expected to be invested over the next three years and will pursue a global strategy of gaining corporate control of distressed companies in target sectors such as asset heavy cyclicals, telecom and financial services. The CPP Investment Board previously committed US$100 million to MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners (Bermuda) L.P. in December 2001.
• US$100 million to Paul Capital Partners VIII, a fund managed by Paul Capital Partners with offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris and London. The fund is expected to be invested over the next five years and will focus on acquiring secondary interests in private equity investments consisting largely of limited partnerships in buyout, venture capital and growth equity located primarily in the US and Western Europe. The CPP Investment Board previously committed US$90 million to Paul Capital Partners VII in August 2001.

The commitments to MatlinPatterson and Paul Capital Partners bring the CPP Investment Board's private equity commitments to a total of $6.1 billion committed to 44 limited partnerships managed by 36 private equity firms.

The CPP Investment Board also made an additional commitment to an existing infrastructure partner:

• $100 million to Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership, a fund managed by a member of the Macquarie Group with 30 international offices including Toronto, Vancouver and New York. The fund will invest in North American infrastructure assets, including pipelines, electricity transmission and distribution networks, located primarily in Canada with a secondary focus on the U.S. The CPP Investment Board's total commitment to Macquarie Essential Assets Partnership is $200 million.

"We began diversifying the fund into private market investments three years ago. The increased commitments to our current partners is a sign of the growing maturity of our portfolio," says John MacNaughton, President and Chief Executive Officer, CPP Investment Board.

The value of the Canada Pension Plan reserve fund as at March 31, 2004, is $70.5 billion.