Clarion Partners is acquiring a majority stake in $9bn European real assets manager Stoneshield Capital, in a deal that triples the Franklin Templeton subsidiary’s regional assets under management to $13bn (€11.2bn).
Stoneshield focuses on investments across supply-constrained markets, including student housing, digital and critical infrastructure, science and innovation, and hospitality.
The company also holds stakes in several European real asset platforms, including purpose-built student accommodation operator MiCampus, renewable energy and AI infrastructure developer Solaria, liquid fuels infrastructure operator Exolum, Spanish homebuilder Neinor Homes and Meliá Hotels International.
Following the deal, Stoneshield will become Clarion’s dedicated opportunistic investment platform in Europe.
David Gilbert, Clarion Partners CEO, said: “The addition of Stoneshield marks an important milestone in Clarion’s buildout of an integrated real assets capability across Europe. Stoneshield’s focus on high-yield, special situations investing is a perfect complement to our current offerings.
“This transaction expands our global investor relationships, broadens our product set, and underscores our long-term commitment to delivering strong performance and innovative investment solutions to our clients.”
Josh Pristaw, president of Clarion Partners, said: “Stoneshield’s strategic ownership positions in diverse portfolio companies not only have the potential to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns, but we believe they will generate additional asset-level investment opportunities for existing and future investment products.”
Jenny Johnson, Franklin Templeton CEO, said: “We are excited to welcome Stoneshield to Franklin Templeton. The combination strengthens our real assets capabilities in Europe and creates opportunities to extend the strengths of both Stoneshield and Clarion across geographies.
“This acquisition represents another important step in our strategy to globalise our real assets capabilities, expand our private markets business and enhance our offerings to clients around the world.”
Juan Pepa, co-founder of Stoneshield, said: “We are excited to join the Clarion Partners investment management platform, and we look forward to expanding the scale and scope of our business in supply-constrained growth sectors. The transaction gives us the benefits of a global platform while preserving our team, strategy, and culture.”
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