OMERS Private Equity Sells Great Expressions Dental Centers to Roark Capital Group

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - Sept. 28, 2016) - OMERS Private Equity, the private equity arm of OMERS, has sold Great Expressions Dental Centers (together with its affiliates, "Great Expressions" or the "Company") to an affiliate of Roark Capital Group ("Roark").

Great Expressions is a leading dental support organization ("DSO") with 269 affiliated practice locations across ten states. Under a single brand and operating philosophy, Great Expressions provides comprehensive affordable dental services through a network with over 900 dentists and hygienists. Since acquiring Great Expressions in 2011, OMERS Private Equity has worked with the Company on several initiatives, including the improvement of dentist retention, the expansion of business development efforts, career path development, and investments in the platform in areas such as training, marketing and human resources.

Mark Dolfato, Managing Director at OMERS Private Equity, said, "Great Expressions has achieved impressive growth since our investment in 2011, and has further solidified its position as one of the preeminent DSOs. Under OMERS ownership, Great Expressions has entered three new markets and added 108 new locations."

Michael Graham, Senior Managing Director and Head of North America for OMERS Private Equity, said, "We are extremely proud of our affiliation with Great Expressions. Great Expressions is OMERS Private Equity's third successful exit of 2016, following Give and Go and Marketwired, and our eighth exit in the last three years as we continue to seek ways to harvest gains where we have created significant value for OMERS. We wish CEO Rich Beckman and his team continued success."

Rich Beckman, CEO of Great Expressions, commented, "This transaction marks an exciting new chapter for the Company. With our new partner, Roark, we look forward to accelerating our strategy of growth through affiliation with other high-quality dental practices. We also look forward to leveraging Roark's expertise to enhance the Great Expressions brand. We appreciate the support and partnership OMERS Private Equity offered throughout the life of their investment."

Jefferies LLC served as financial advisor, and Sidley Austin LLP acted as legal counsel.

About OMERS Private Markets and OMERS Private Equity

OMERS Private Markets [OMERS Private Equity and Borealis Infrastructure] invests globally in private equity and infrastructure assets on behalf of the OMERS pension plan. OMERS Private Equity's investment strategy involves active ownership of a portfolio of industry-leading businesses across North America and Europe. Through partnership with world class management teams and delivering on growth strategies, OMERS Private Equity's investments are aimed at generating strong returns to help deliver secure and sustainable pensions to OMERS members. Recent OMERS Private Equity transactions include the acquisition of Forefront Dermatology, Kenan Advantage Group, and ERM Partners and the successful sales of Marketwired and Give and Go. OMERS Private Markets has offices in Toronto, New York, London and Sydney. OMERS is one of Canada's largest pension funds with net assets of CAD$77 billion. For more information, please visit www.omerspe.com or www.omersprivatemarkets.com.