Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, along with Canada's largest pension fund manager, will invest US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) in American talent management agency WME-IMG.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, in a separate statement, said it would invest about US$400 million for an 8 per cent stake in WME-IMG, which owns brands like Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Miss Universe Organisation.

The US firm also counts the SoftBank Group, Silver Lake Partners and Fidelity Investments among its investors. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

WME-IMG operates hundreds of events, including the Miami Open tennis tournament and New York Fashion Week, Reuters said.

Mr Eric Wilmes, managing director of private equity at GIC, said: "GIC is committed to supporting WME-IMG's continuing innovation, industry leadership and international expansion.

"WME-IMG has demonstrated a capacity to grow and diversify in an increasingly complex environment for sports, entertainment and fashion globally. As a long-term investor, GIC believes the company will benefit from the strong trend of consumers demanding quality content."

In a separate development, a unit of GIC is also part of a consortium of investors who have offered to buy about a third of Philippine renewable power producer Energy Development Corp (EDC), the company said yesterday.

EDC said a consortium called Philippines Renewable Energy Holdings Corp had sought to acquire up to 31.7 per cent of the company for up to US$1.3 billion.

"The (consortium's) proposed investment in the company would be a strategic investment that fits its long-term regional strategy and its expertise in the sector," EDC said.

On Wednesday, Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform Dianrong raised US$220 million from a group of investors led by GIC, to step up research of new technology as it expands, Reuters said.