Exclusive: Mirova targets IRR above 8% for first core fund

Mirova Environment and Infrastructure (Mirova), a subsidiary of Paris-based Natixis Asset Management, has beaten its €500 million first close target for its first brownfield offering by raising €600 million.

Mirova Core Infrastructure Fund is seeded with 14 assets developed through Mirova’s first two equity funds, both of which are dedicated to greenfield infrastructure, a spokesperson for the firm told Infrastructure Investor. Mirova has since added four assets to this initial portfolio, which is largely made of European public-private partnerships (PPP) and infrastructure concessions spanning the transportation, broadband and social infrastructure sectors.

The vehicle targets an IRR of more than 8 percent and a yearly yield of 7 percent, the spokesperson said. The fund is now nearing its revised hard-cap, according to Mirova, with a final close expected in October.

It will aim to make mid-market transactions with an investment ticket ranging between €20 million and €100 million. It is anticipated that the vehicle, which has a duration of 25 years and a buy-and-hold strategy, will make between five and 10 additional deals. 

“Upon completion of the fundraising for this fund, the Mirova General Infrastructure Platform will manage over €1 billion of assets. With Mirova’s first two equity funds dedicated to greenfield infrastructure, the Mirova Core Infrastructure Fund broadens the types of transaction we can now pursue,” said Gwenola Chambon, head of infrastructure funds and fund principal at Mirova, in a statement.

Investors in the fund include pension funds and funds of funds as well as insurance companies from France, Germany and Netherlands. Threadmark acted as exclusive global placement agent in Europe outside of France, while Natixis Global Asset Management was responsible for distribution in the firm’s home country.