Press release of October 20, 2022

SWEN CP announces final close for the 4th vintage of its multi-strategy fund dedicated to tomorrow’s infrastructure

With the prospect of a €15 trillion gap in global infrastructure financing by 2040 looming (source: Global Infrastructure Hub - https://outlook.gihub.org/), this asset class combines strong growth potential and resilience. In this context, and to address issues such as the energy and digital transitions, as well as access to essential services, SWEN Capital Partners (“SWEN CP”), a leading player in responsible private equity, is pleased to announce the final close, at €470 million, of its 4th vintage SWEN Infra Multi-Select 4 (SIMS 4), which is classified as an Article 8 fund under the EU’s SFDR.

SWEN CP, Demonstrated Leadership in Multi-Strategy Infrastructure

The continued trust of our longstanding French LPs and the arrival of new European investors attest just how robust is the infrastructure strategy SWEN CP has implemented over the past dozen years to support the development of these assets. And with 80 investments to their credit, of which 30 direct, there is no question as to the investment team’s legitimacy on its segment.

With their solid track record backing them up, SWEN CP has collected more than €1 billion over the last 12 months in multi-strategy infrastructure and equity investments across its mandates, advisory clients as well as its SIMS 4 fund and SWEN Exclusive Infrastructures (see press release), a fund dedicated to the needs of private banking that was launched in October 2021 via co-investments with SIMS 4.

SIMS 4 offers a predominately European investment program in diversified and promising sectors, such as telecommunications, energy transition, low-carbon mobility, and health & education infrastructure, with a stringent ESG approach under which climate issues are systematically analyzed. The fund targets an average annual internal rate of return (IRR) between 8% and 10% and an average investment ticket around €30 million as concerns primary or secondary funds, and €15 million to €25 million for direct investments.

An Experienced and Expert Investment Team

For this program, SWEN CP has emphasized the share of direct investment (50% of the target program), complemented by a balanced distribution between primary and secondary indirect investments.

The investment team, consisting of a dozen professionals, brings together the key sectoral, financial, and extra-financial expertise for the field of infrastructure. The team’s stability and cumulative experience allow them to capitalize on a network of more than 70 asset management companies operating across the various market segments with which SWEN CP has forged privileged links.

To date, the fund has made 16 investments, of which 7 are direct co-investments. Sectors include fiberoptics, renewables, food & agriculture logistics and low-carbon transport. These investments, which bring the fund to around 50% of full deployment, illustrate the positive dynamics of the team and the momentum of its reference market.

Spearheading the Integration of Extra-Financial Issues

Above and beyond its strategy of allocating capital to asset management companies with leading ESG credentials, based on a proprietary extra-financial database with a 10-year track record, the fund uses four “ESG markers” aligned with SWEN CP's corporate purpose when analyzing investment opportunities. These are: respect for the environment, connection to essential goods and services in rural areas, diversity, and fair sharing of value. These markers constitute the foundation for investment criteria, making it possible to ensure alignment between the investment company’s convictions and its investments.

SIMS 4 also applies the Net Environmental Contribution (NEC) methodology¹ in conducting environmental assessments of direct investments. Providing a true environmental footprint of investments based on a multi-criteria approach, NEC measures the alignment of a business, company or project with the environmental and climate transition. Scientific in nature and based on physical units, the method addresses not only the climate issue but also biodiversity, water, waste/resources, and air quality. It adopts a lifecycle approach, considering impact throughout the value chain. The result is a single score on a universal scale, ranging from -100% to +100%, that is applicable to all businesses and all asset classes, facilitating aggregation in portfolios and indices.

“With its increased ambition in direct investments, SIMS4 takes an important step in furthering our expertise, while consolidating our know-how when it comes to managing diversified programs. Our unique ecosystem, our strong track record and our high standards in extra-financial matters contribute to the sustainability of our positioning and our ability to support leading players in their markets,” shared Jean-Philippe Richaud, Deputy CEO and Multistrategy CIO of SWEN CP.

“We are very proud to see leading European investors join us in our ambition to meet essential infrastructure financing needs in Europe and worldwide, and to participate in the low-carbon transition of key assets,” added Thibault Richon, Head of Multi-strategy Infrastructure.

“An ability to take action that boosts innovative and useful players—whether because of the companies it targets or the new strategies that emerge—makes SIMS 4 a robust tool as the market turns towards ever more responsible finance,” concluded Jérôme Delmas, CEO of SWEN CP.

About SWEN Capital Partners
SWEN Capital Partners is a leading player in responsible investment in unlisted assets in Europe. With more than 7.0 € billion (calculated in amounts of cumulative commitments) under management, SWEN Capital Partners offers a wide range of investment programs for institutional and private clients. The asset management company integrates ESG criteria in all its asset management activities and has been implementing a climate strategy since 2017. In 2019, it reinforced its actions in favor of fairer and more sustainable growth by launching its first impact fund dedicated to renewable gas. Its increasingly strong convictions are leading the management company to go further in 2021 by launching its new impact management strategy dedicated to ocean regeneration. SWEN Capital Partners is a subsidiary of OFI (whose main shareholders are Macif and Matmut).
Since January 2022, SWEN Capital Partners is a co-shareholder of the NEC Initiative, a company with an independent mission and developer of a methodology allowing socio-economic actors to measure their contribution to the ecological transition towards a common goal: the construction of a responsible and sustainable economy.

About SIMS 4
SIMS 4 is a Specialized Professional Fund (SPF) not subject to AMF approval. The fund may therefore adopt specific management rules that are not applicable to approved funds.
The subscription, acquisition, sale, or transfer of Units, directly or through an intermediary, is limited to professional investors with the experience, knowledge and competence necessary to make their own investment decisions and to correctly assess the risks incurred, most notably the risk of capital loss.