CPP Investments Sells C$4B PE Portfolio to Blackstone, Ardian

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold a diversified portfolio of 33 private equity fund interests to Blackstone’s secondaries unit and Paris-based Ardian in a C$4 billion (US$3 billion) transaction, as the C$568 billion pension fund continues to actively recycle capital.

The deal comes on the heels of CPP Investments’ exit from its remaining European non-performing loan portfolio, which it sold for C$1 billion to funds managed by Arrow Global Group and Fortress Investment Group.

“This transaction was undertaken as part of our active portfolio management activities,” said Tom Kapsimalis, managing director and head of secondaries at CPP Investments. “As a systematic buyer and seller in the secondaries market, this sale provided an attractive opportunity to optimize our exposure and supports disciplined capital allocation across our portfolio as we manage the CPP Fund in the best interest of CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”

Blackstone Strategic Partners, the buyer of a portion of the interests, is Blackstone’s secondaries business, overseeing about US$100 billion across secondaries, co-investments, primary advisory and GP stakes. The unit has been a key growth engine within Blackstone’s roughly US$430 billion private equity platform, which has reported higher secondaries activity, fundraising and fee-related earnings. In the first quarter, Blackstone recorded US$8.4 billion in secondaries inflows tied to its 10th flagship secondaries strategy.

Ardian, which also acquired part of the CPP portfolio, manages or advises on about US$200 billion for more than 1,900 clients spanning private equity, real assets and credit. The firm closed the ninth vintage of its secondaries platform at US$30 billion in early 2025, calling it the largest secondaries fundraise to date.