The CPP Investment Board announced today the commitment of approximately $220 million over five years to private equity funds in Europe and the United States.

The larger commitment is 100 million Euros ($140 million) to Bridgepoint Capital Ltd. for investment in mid-market buyout opportunities, equally divided between the U.K. and Continental Europe. The Second European Private Equity Fund managed by Bridgepoint Capital has a target size of 1.6 billion Euros ($2.4 billion). The investment firm was established in the 1980s as NatWest Equity Partners.

The second commitment is US$50 million ($80 million) to Lexington Partners Inc. for investment through the Lexington Capital Partners V limited partnership, investing in secondary market opportunities. The fund has a target size of US$2.5 billion. Lexington is the largest independent manager of secondary private equity capital with US$4.5 billion currently under management in more than 500 private equity limited partnerships.

“Both commitments diversify those made in the past nine months to 12 private equity firms for investment in private equity opportunities in Canada, the U.S. and Europe,” commented Mark Weisdorf, vice president responsible for private market investments at the CPP Investment Board. “So far we have committed approximately $2.3 billion to private equity funds to be drawn down over the next four to six years.”

The CPP Investment Board previously announced it would ultimately invest up to 10% of assets in private equity. While commitments to date represent approximately 17% of the $14 billion in assets reported on December 31, 2001, actual investments to date are less than 3% of total assets.

The CPP Investment Board’s assets are growing rapidly and within 10 years are expected to exceed $130 billion. During this period, the commitments made to date will be drawn down by fund managers as suitable investments are identified.

The CPP Investment Board currently invests in publicly traded equities, with approximately 70% invested in funds based on the TSE 300 Index and 30% invested in U.S. and international index funds.