Cordiant to raise £300m in London IPO for digital infrastructure fund

Cordiant Capital is planning to raise £300m (€338m) for a digital infrastructure fund by issuing shares at 100p each and list the vehicle on the London Stock Exchange on 16 February.

The manager said it intends to launch an initial public offering for the Cordiant Digital Infrastructure fund which will invest in data centres, fibreoptic networks and mobile towers in the UK, Europe and North America.

The fund will focus on the middle-market, where platforms can be acquired at attractive entry prices and the size of the platform grown through capital expenditure and bolt-on acquisitions, the manager said.

Cordiant Capital said it has identified and is evaluating, a pipeline of around €1.5bn of investment opportunities.

Shonaid Jemmett-Page, chairman of Cordiant Digital Infrastructure, said: “The need for substantial investment in digital infrastructure in the developed world has been starkly highlighted by our experiences during the global Covid-19 pandemic, whilst the increasing digitisation across societies has the potential to have a transformative impact on the global climate and societal challenges that we face.

“In Cordiant, the investment trust will have access to a specialist investment manager with industry-leading experience and the ability to take advantage of the substantial opportunities in the sector.”

Steven Marshall, chairman of digital infrastructure at Cordiant Capital, said: “The paramount need for more and enhanced digital infrastructure has become apparent to us all in recent months. However, investing in these assets requires sector expertise and knowledge.

“The Cordiant team has decades of industry and investment experience and we believe that the opportunities that we are originating are compelling.”

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure will be the first dedicated digital infrastructure investment trust, providing diversified exposure to the attractive growth and income characteristics of the asset class, Marshall said.

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