Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has agreed to sell $700 million Couche-Tard shares back to the convenience-store giant.

Montreal-based CDPQ has also agreed to invest $103 million in Vantage Data Centers’ Quebec City campus.

In a joint-news release, Laval, Que.-based Couche-Tard and CDPQ said their deal is being made in connection with the pension fund’s “periodic portfolio rebalancing.”

Couche-Tard plans to repurchase about 8.7 million shares from CDPQ for the purpose of cancelling them and increasing the global retailer’s value. The $80.50-per-share purchase price represents a 3% discount to the stock’s closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on July 22.

CDPQ plans to complete the purchase with cash on hand. According to the Globe and Mail, CDPQ periodically, CDPQ periodically reduces it exposure to some of its largest stockholdings.

CDPQ stressed that it remains committed to its investment partnership with Couche-Tard.

“We’ve been a partner of the company for nearly 30 years, and we will continue to support the expansion of this international leader,” said Kim Thomassin, executive vice-president and Head of Quebec at CDPQ.

“The proceeds of this monetization will be reinvested in other companies in Quebec.”

In the deal with Vantage, CDPQ has agreed to provide the $103 million as part of a senior financing package. If all goes according to plan, the money will finance the construction of the third hyperscale facility on Vantage’s four-building Quebec City campus.

The investment will also deliver an additional 16 megawatts of electricity to serve increasing demand for cloud computing services across Quebec and Eastern Canada, said CDPQ.

“This new investment in Vantage leverages CDPQ’s global experience in financing critical digital infrastructure to support the delivery of this important local project,” said Marc Cormier, CDPQ’s head of fixed income investments.

CDPQ’s investment is part of US$130 million (C$179 million) in financing structured and underwritten for Vantage by Montreal-based Société Générale.

“CDPQ’s investment will play a crucial role in our expansion in Quebec City and in fuelling our capacity to deliver high-quality digital infrastructure in the region,” said Maxime Guévin, Vantage’s general manager for Canada.

Founded in 2010, Denver-based Vantage owns and operates global facilities.

Photo: Couche-Tard