A consortium including Stafford Capital Partners and funds managed by Ares Management and Nordea Asset Management has acquired a vintage French greenfield fund from Vauban Infrastructure Partners in a secondary transaction.
Stafford, through its Stafford Infrastructure Secondaries Fund IV fund, has invested €50m and led the consortium to buy FIDEPPP2, a 2012 fund with a portfolio of 15 infrastructure investments. The sellers are members of French banking group BPCE.
Stafford Capital said the FIDEPPP2 portfolio, which mainly includes digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, energy transition, and mobility assets will be held in Core Infrastructure Fund Prime (CIF Prime), a newly created vehicle. Most of the investments have matured and entered into a brownfield phase.
Vauban will act as the alternative investment fund manager for CIF Prime.
Steven Zehr, partner at Stafford Capital’s infrastructure arm, said: “Our investment in CIF Prime offers investors attractive access to a portfolio of high-quality core infrastructure assets in France.
“We are excited to partner with Vauban who has deep insights into the portfolio and who has a proven track record of delivering on its financial and ESG objectives.”
Fabrice Garus, investment director and partner at Vauban Infrastructure Partners, said: “We are proud of the success of our FIDEPPP2 fund. It has developed with success over the past decade into landmark.
greenfield infrastructure projects and companies in France with strong support from all stakeholders and robust and conservative financing structures solidifying the assets’ operational resilience.”
Gwénola Chambon, CEO and managing partner at Vauban Infrastructure Partners, said: “We are pleased by the success of this process, both from the perspective of the historical investors of FIDEPPP2 who
successfully deployed capital for the development of essential infrastructure in France for the past 10 years, as well as with the welcoming of tier-one international investors to support the continued success of these now core infrastructure assets.”
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