OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension fund administrators, aims to bolster its private equity portfolio as it builds on a strategy of buying companies and working with existing management to enhance value, a senior OMERS executives said. OMERS, or Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, will look for deals in the C$100 million ($102 million) to C$500 million range, the size at which it usually targets acquisitions, Jim Orlando, managing director for private equity, told Reuters in an interview. "Net-net, we will be buyers, and net-net, we intend to increase the number of portfolio companies we have under management," Orlando said ahead of the annual Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association conference in Vancouver. Teaming with private equity firm Berkshire Partners LLC, OMERS earlier this month said it would purchase Husky International from Canadian takeover shop Onex Corp (OCX.TO) for $2.1 billion. It was the latest in a recent flurry of secondary buyouts -- where one private equity firm sells to rival buyout firm.
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