Asterion Industrial Partners completes first close with commitments over €500m for pan-European Infrastructure Fund
- The Fund, which has a target size of €850m, has reached a first close in four months since it was registered with the CNMV
- Asterion has completed its first deal with the acquisition of a co-controlling stake in French utility group Proxiserve
- Guido Mitrani, former Director in the KKR infrastructure team, to join Asterion as a Partner
Pan-European infrastructure fund manager Asterion Industrial Partners has announced today that it has secured commitments of €519m for a first close of its inaugural Asterion Industrial Infra Fund I (“the Fund”) four months after registering the vehicle with the Spanish Securities Market Exchange Commission (CNMV). In addition, Asterion has also generated €120m of co-investment for its investors alongside the Fund.
So far investors in the Fund include sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and asset managers from across Europe, North America and the Middle East. The Fund, which has a target size of €850m, expects to hold a final close by the summer. It will focus on the European mid-market in infrastructure, including sectors such as Telecoms; Energy & Utilities; and Mobility.
The Firm will target specific geographies where the team has deep resident experience and significant networks, including France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, with a more selective approach to the rest of Europe. Asterion’s industrial business model and active approach to asset management, will aim to transform companies and address complexity to deliver strong value creation.
Asterion Completes the Acquisition of France’s Proxiserve
Following the announcement of the first close, Asterion has also announced that the Fund has completed its first investment, in a 50/50 partnership with Mirova for a co-controlling stake in Proxiserve, a French utility group active in energy services (submetering, maintenance, heating and electricity).
The investment in Proxiserve combines strong downside protection from its core submetering business with attractive growth prospects resulting from the opportunity to develop further synergies for a smart energy home offering and multi-services for heating, plumbing and metering. Furthermore, Proxiserve benefits from a strong market position poised to address the evolving trends around energy efficiency and growing complexity in the infrastructure landscape.
Best in Class Team with Strong Partnership Model
Guido Mitrani, formerly a Director in the KKR Infrastructure team, will join Asterion as a Partner in the coming weeks. Together with Jesús Olmos, former global co-head of KKR Infrastructure, and Winnie Wutte, also formerly a Director at KKR, the three Partners will lead the international team. They have worked together for close to 10 years across multiple infrastructure transactions and market cycles in Europe. The Asterion Partner team further build on their broad and long-term experience within the corporate and investment banking sectors.
In addition, the senior team includes Directors Sebastián Urbán-Muñoz, the former Group Head of Strategy at Telefónica, and Nicole Hildebrand, formerly an energy originator at Morgan Stanley as well as Operating Partners David Jones, the former CEO of Renewables at Allianz, and Antonio Haya, the former CEO of Endesa France and Energas. Asterion’s Legal Counsel, Manuela González-Arias joined the team from Linklaters and STB and CFO, Beatriz Castedo was formerly at Realza Capital and Alantra.
Headquartered in Madrid and with presence in London and Paris, Asterion’s team is comprised of 15 professionals, representing seven different nationalities. The team combine transactional experience with strong operational and industrial backgrounds, supported additionally by outstanding Industrial Advisors.
Asterion’s Environmental, Social and Governance approach is central to the Firm’s business model and fully integrated in both its investment process and in its own culture.
Asterion aims to promote operational transparency through close collaboration with its investors and works to foster responsible investment practices and best-in-class governance within its team, its portfolio companies and local communities. Culture is central to how the Firm operates.