Centerbridge to Launch Overland Advisors to Execute an Innovative and Differentiated Investment Strategy with Anchor Equity Investments from ADIA, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Wells Fargo and Centerbridge

NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO – Centerbridge Partners (Centerbridge) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) announced they are entering into a strategic relationship focused on direct lending to non-sponsor North American middle market companies. To meet the alternative credit needs of this segment, Centerbridge intends to launch Overland Advisors to manage a newly formed business development company that will be primarily focused on making senior secured loans. Overland represents a transformative new business model for direct lending to middle-market companies, diversifying the market of clients served by private credit and direct lending.

The Centerbridge and Wells Fargo strategic relationship includes differentiated origination sourcing from Wells Fargo’s extensive middle market customer base, and an equity investment from Wells Fargo. In addition to expanding financing access to the non-sponsor segment, Overland will pursue other transactions, including traditional sponsor-backed direct lending opportunities.

Overland Advisors is targeting a minimum of $5 billion in investible capital, including $2.5 billion in equity commitments for this strategy. Anchor investors, including wholly owned subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), have committed to provide nearly $2 billion in initial equity commitments.

“Overland represents a new paradigm in direct lending, bringing a relationship approach to direct lending and offering a much-needed capital solution in the large but underpenetrated non-sponsor U.S. middle market,” said Jeff Aronson, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Centerbridge Partners. “We believe Overland draws on the unique and complementary capabilities of both Centerbridge’s leading private credit underwriting capabilities and Wells Fargo’s nationwide sourcing and origination network to offer an attractive new proposition for borrowers in the private lending and direct credit space at a particularly compelling time.”

“As a leader in U.S. middle market and asset-based lending, we are continually focused on finding ways to best serve our clients, and Overland can offer them options for alternative capital structures that can be used to pursue a broader set of growth and value creation initiatives across a variety of market conditions,” said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo. “Working with Centerbridge under our sourcing relationship will help us elevate our support of middle market clients.”

Hamad Shahwan AlDhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, commented, “Overland represents a highly differentiated and scalable approach to direct lending in the U.S. middle market. We are excited about our anchor investment in this unique platform.”

Daniel Garant, Executive Vice President & Global Head, Public Markets, BCI, said, “Direct Lending provides an important alternative financing source for middle market businesses. We believe Overland takes that to the next level by broadening and diversifying the types of businesses served, and we are pleased to be making this meaningful long-term investment.”

The sourcing relationship between Overland Advisors and Wells Fargo will provide an innovative, relationship-driven approach to direct lending that meets the capital needs of Wells Fargo clients and other non-sponsor owned middle-market businesses by providing important financing capacity and access to capital for family-owned and other privately owned businesses in North America that have limited connectivity to private credit. Harnessing Centerbridge and Wells Fargo’s strengths and scale and building on their respective track records and deep relationships, Overland will be well-positioned to offer a differentiated client experience for borrowers.

Overland expects to leverage Centerbridge’s recognized leadership as a private and alternative credit investor, with a seasoned investment team that has decades of experience creating innovative solutions and underwriting credit investments. It also expects to benefit from Wells Fargo’s long-term relationships, extensive client base and leading position in U.S. middle market and asset-based lending, supported by a nationwide network of relationship managers in 49 out of 50 of the largest markets across the country.

Overland Advisors will be controlled by Centerbridge Partners, and Wells Fargo will be a minority investor.

About Centerbridge

Centerbridge Partners, L.P. is a private investment management firm employing a flexible approach across investment disciplines — Private Equity, Private Credit and Real Estate — in an effort to develop the most attractive opportunities for its investors. The firm was founded in 2005 and as of June 30, 2023, has approximately $36 billion in capital under management with offices in New York and London. Centerbridge is dedicated to partnering with world-class management teams across targeted industry sectors and geographies.

For more information, please visit www.centerbridge.com and LinkedIn.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets, proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the U.S., and is a leading middle market banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 47 on Fortune’s 2023 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a low carbon economy.

News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo

About Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)

Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally-diversified investment institution that prudently invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.

About BCI

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with $233.0 billion in gross assets under management, as of March 31,2023. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver, New York City, and London, U.K., BCI manages a portfolio of diversified public and private market investments on behalf of its 32 British Columbia public sector clients. With a global outlook, BCI integrates ESG factors in all investment decisions and activities that convert savings into productive capital to meet clients’ risk and return requirements over time. Founded in 1999, BCI is a statutory corporation created by the Public Sector Pension Plans Act.

For more information, visit BCI.ca or LinkedIn.

This press release is not intended to, and does not, constitute an offer to purchase or sell securities of Overland Advisors or any entity advised by it. Any offer, solicitations to offer or sales of securities of Overland Advisors or any entity advised by it will only be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “target,” “goals,” “plan,” “forecast,” “project,” other variations on these words or comparable terminology, or the negative of these words. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and neither Centerbridge nor Wells Fargo can assure you that the projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Centerbridge nor Wells Fargo undertakes an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein. There is no assurance that Overland Advisors will launch this strategy or any entity advised by it as described in this press release or at all.

CONTACTS

Centerbridge Partners

Jeremy Fielding / Anntal Silver / Daniel Hoadley

overland@kekstcnc.com

Wells Fargo

Liz Lange

elizabeth.c.lange@wellsfargo.com

BCI

Olga Petrycki

media@bci.ca

Publishes white paper on modernizing trading to help establish gold standard at large institutional asset managers.

Victoria, BC – British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) has released an industry-first white paper detailing our innovative centralized trading framework which provides clients with greater portfolio returns, lower fees, and allows for improved risk management.

“As BCI transitioned successfully to an active in-house global asset manager, we built a value-added, modern centralized trading framework,” said Daniel Garant, executive vice president & global head, public markets. “Our framework was designed with a cross-asset mindset to enhance portfolio returns, lower costs and better manage risk. It was imperative that our platform deliver best trade execution, as well as have strong governance to help influence ESG practices with our global financial partners, in addition to streamlining processes, efficiencies, and scalability for our continued growth.”

Our centralized, end-to-end trading approach ensures connectivity at the highest levels and enables one cross-asset desk to execute for the entire corporation. Having a complete picture of trading activities, fees, and data allows for better aggregated pricing on total transactions with partners, and further allows for better decision making grounded in centralized data sources.

“We are pleased to be working closely with BCI in the provision of front- to back-office capabilities that help facilitate and accelerate BCI’s ambitions to generate enhanced performance and greater cost efficiencies for their clients. Centralized trading exemplifies their commitment to achieving these goals, and we are excited to continue solutioning for their needs as they continue to grow.” said Dane Fannin, global head of securities finance at Northern Trust, a leading provider of asset servicing to institutional investors.

Promoting collaboration in what is typically a siloed function at many large institutional asset managers, BCI’s centralized trading framework also shifts the role of the trader from operations to advisor, allowing trading professionals to add significant value to the investment process.

“Joining BCI at a time when the corporation transitioned to active management allowed me to lead a trading team implementing processes and frameworks from scratch. There has long been an established, back, middle and front office approach to trading, coming in to create something new without legacy frameworks to constrain us was very exciting,” said Samir Dhrolia, senior managing director, global derivatives, trading and indexing portfolio management. “The executive management team at BCI empowered us to deliver a world-class solution and we’ve been able to draw top talent from a very competitive market to Victoria to work on this.”

As outlined in our Centralized Trading White Paper, the key benefits of a centralized trading framework include:

• Cross-asset view that enhances portfolio returns, reduces costs and allows for better risk management
• A central voice facilitated via BCI’s One Wallet platform, a relationship management tool that manages a total view of payments across BCI, negotiating with external parties for the best possible results for clients on commissions, deal flows and third-party services. This is increasingly important as BCI’s operations spans the globe with teams in Victoria, Vancouver, New York, and this year, London, UK
• Fosters a performance-focused team, and offers an environment where employees collaborate across the portfolio management, cross asset risk and liquidity functions
• Streamlines processes, effectiveness, and scalability for continued growth
• Optimizes management oversight, and strengthens legal, compliance and operational controls thus reducing a variety of operational and investment risks

Download the Centralized Trading White Paper.

About BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with $211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, offices in Vancouver, New York City, and London, U.K. BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time. This compels us to integrate long-term ESG matters into all investment decisions and activities. BCI’s clients include pension plans representing over 715,000 plan members, insurance funds providing more than three million Autoplan insurance policies annually, benefits coverage to more than two million workers and 225,000 companies, and special purpose funds within B.C.’s public sector. Founded in 1999, BCI is a statutory corporation created by the Public Sector Pension Plans Act. For more information, visit our website BCI.ca or follow us on LinkedIn.

CONTACT
Olga Petrycki
Director, External Stakeholder Engagement
778-410-7310 | media@bci.ca

What is centralized trading? This white paper explores the benefits and drawbacks of centralized trading for institutional investors. We offer decision criteria for asset management firms who are considering or on their way to centralized dealings, to assess their unique circumstances, costs, and other constraints before implementing a centralized framework. We develop best practices to implement centralized dealings, including good governance, regulatory requirements, defining order types and cross-asset best execution, working from home and technology prerequisites. The analysis draws on the existing body of research for trading desk structures, industry trends and best practices, scenario analysis to estimate the benefits net of costs, and case studies from global asset management firms.

Centralized Trading Whitepaper

MONTREAL (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — WSP Global Inc. (TSX: WSP) (“WSP” or the “Corporation”) is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Enterra Holdings Ltd., the holding company of Golder Associates (“Golder”), through a plan of arrangement pursuant to the Companies Act (Nova Scotia) (the “Acquisition”). Golder is a global consulting firm with approximately 7,000 employees and 60 years of experience in providing earth sciences and environmental consulting services.

The aggregate cash consideration payable in connection with the Acquisition is approximately US$1.14 billion (approximately C$1.4 billion), which was paid in cash. The Acquisition and other related transaction costs were financed using the proceeds from the Corporation’s previously closed C$310 million private placements of subscription receipts with GIC Pte. Ltd., and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and new bank financing term loans.

“Today we have reached a transformational milestone for WSP, Golder and our 54,000 employees around the world as we begin our journey together as the leading global environmental consulting firm,” said Alexandre L’Heureux, President and Chief Executive Officer of WSP. “This acquisition directly contributes to the realization of the goals we laid out in our 2019-2021 Global Strategic Plan. We expect that the addition of Golder will contribute to both strategic growth and value creation for many years to come.”

“Over the past few months, both WSP and Golder’s leadership teams have been working together to build the foundation necessary to ensure we are unlocking the full potential of our increased scale and broader, deeper range of solutions to tackle key environmental and ESG challenges around the world. I am confident that our focus on technical excellence and shared passion for innovation and collaboration will facilitate integration, while providing professional development opportunities for our employees and long-term value for our communities, clients and shareholders,” added Alexandre L’Heureux.

Additionally, leaders from Golder will be taking strategic positions within both the Corporation’s operating regions and support functions, creating a truly diverse, inclusive and collaborative platform maximizing integration success with WSP’s existing leadership.

“Golder was built by generations of pioneering, passionate, and caring world-class experts that collectively created one of the most iconic global brands in the industry, underpinned by a strong inclusive culture with technical excellence and innovation at its core,” said Dr. Hisham Mahmoud, Global President and Chief Executive Officer of Golder, who previously announced that he will be retiring from his role. “I believe the combination of Golder and WSP will create significant value for our clients and opportunities for our people. I’ve been impressed with what our teams have already accomplished in planning for the integration, further confirming a shared excitement for the future.”

“I would like to thank Dr. Hisham Mahmoud for bringing Golder to this point in its journey, as one of the most successful and respected brands in the industry. We wish him continued success in his future endeavors,” stated Alexandre L’Heureux.

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENT IN CANADA

Marie-Claude Dumas has been named President and CEO of WSP in Canada, replacing Ryan Brain who will ensure a smooth transition. Since joining WSP in January 2020, Ms. Dumas has served as Global Director, Major Projects & Programs/Executive Market Leader – Quebec, working closely with our Global and Canadian operations and leadership. A member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, Ms. Dumas brings a proven track record as a global engineering and construction executive with over 20 years of multi-disciplinary management and consulting experience acquired with several multinationals.

“As we have entered the last year of our strategic cycle, we are confident that Marie-Claude’s extensive technical background, combined with her track record in major project delivery, will set the foundation for sustained growth at WSP in Canada, in addition to capturing the benefits offered by the Golder acquisition. We thank Ryan Brain for his contribution to the success of WSP’s Canadian operations during his tenure and for his ongoing support during the transition,” said Alexandre L’Heureux.

“After witnessing firsthand, the undeniable talent and level of expertise of WSP in Canada over the past year, I am proud to continue to work alongside the Canadian leadership team as we pursue the organization’s strategic ambitions to further our client centric approach and people development initiatives,” said Marie-Claude Dumas.

ABOUT WSP
As one of the world’s leading professional services firms, WSP provides engineering and design services to clients in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property & Buildings, Environment, Power & Energy, Resources and Industry sectors, as well as offering strategic advisory services. WSP’s global experts include engineers, advisors, technicians, scientists, architects, planners, environmental specialists and surveyors, in addition to other design, program and construction management professionals. Our talented people are well positioned to deliver successful and sustainable projects, wherever clients need us. For more information about WSP, please visit www.wsp.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains information or statements that are or may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this press release, the words “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “forecast”, “project”, “intend”, “target”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or terminology of a similar nature as they relate to the Corporation, an affiliate of the Corporation or the combined firm following the Acquisition, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, those information and statements related to the Acquisition and benefits of the Acquisition, and the Corporation’s future growth, results of operations, performance business, prospects and opportunities, the expected synergies to be realized and certain expected financial ratios. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties relating to the following: the possible failure to realize anticipated benefits of the Acquisition, the integration of Golder’s business, the loss of certain key personnel of Golder, the possible failure to achieve the anticipated synergies, increased indebtedness, transitional risk, potential undisclosed costs or liabilities associated with the Acquisition, the reliance on information provided by Golder, change of control and other similar provisions and fees, the nature of acquisitions, the fact that the combined firm will continue to face the same risks that the Corporation currently faces, potential litigation and other factors discussed or referred to in the “Risk Factors” section of WSP’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the “MD&A”), which is available under WSP’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and other unknown or unpredictable factors could also have a material adverse effect on the performance or results of WSP or Golder. WSP’s forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. For additional information on this cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements as well as a description of the relevant assumptions and risk factors likely to affect WSP’s actual or projected results, reference is made to the MD&A, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and except as required under applicable securities laws, WSP does not undertake to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether written or verbal, that may be made from time to time by itself or on its behalf, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Alain Michaud
Chief Financial Officer
WSP Global Inc.
alain.michaud@wsp.com
Phone: 438-843-7317