CANADA- The investment board of the CS$14.3bn (€9.3bn) national Canadian pension fund has announced it is allocating a e370m to three new private equity funds.

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is committing €150m to Terra Firma Capital Partners, the London-based manager launched last year by Guy Hands, formerly of Nomura.

Terra Firma’s fund has a target size of €3bn that it will invest over the next five years in particular in leveraged buyouts in low growth and out of favor sectors primarily in Western Europe.

The Canadian fund is also committing C$100m (€65.5m) to Kensington Capital Partners. Half this has been given to a fund of funds for investing in canadian buyouts while the rest has gone to a direct investment fund specialising in private Canadian companies.

CPP has also committed $150m (€155m) to Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer, a New York-based fund. With a terget size of $2bn, this will invest in industries such as manufacturing, financial services and healthcare.

The allocations are part of CPP’s plans to invest up to 10% of its assets in private equity. It has already committed the equivalent of €2.7bn to twenty seven funds managed by twenty three private equity firms. €300m, or 3.2% of the CPP Investment Board’s assets have already been invested in private equity.