Fundraising

Mirova almost doubles target as it closes renewables fund

The French fund manager has raised €350m for its third renewables vehicle as it eyes a 50/50 investment split between France and Europe.

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Mirova, the sustainable investment subsidiary of France's Natixis Asset Management, has reached a €350 million close on its third renewables fund that almost doubles its original target.

Mirova-Eurofideme 3 was originally targeting €200 million for the greenfield vehicle, but was propelled by old and new investors – including a €40 million commitment from the European Investment Bank – to an oversubscribed final close.

The fund has already invested about €100 million across eight deals, financing over 300MW of solar, wind and hydro projects across Europe. Mirova sees France and the Nordics as its key markets, with Hervé Guez, the firm’s head of responsible research, previously telling Infrastructure Investor that the fund will aim to deploy 50 percent of its capital in France, with the remainder in Europe.

Chief executive Philippe Zaouati said: “The success of Mirova-Eurofideme 3’s fundraising is a positive feedback to our continuous effort to offer to institutional investors solutions which address climate issues and to introduce ESG criteria into diversified asset classes, including green bonds, thematic listed equity strategies, and in particular sustainable infrastructure, in which assets under management are fast growing, now reaching €1.6 billion”.

Mirova already manages two renewables funds, FIDEME and Eurofideme 2, which have developed over 700MW of clean energy, primarily wind and solar. The sustainable manager is also nearing a final close for the Mirova Core Infrastructure Fund, which is set to raise around €700 million. The firm had exceeded its initial €500 million target last September for its first brownfield PPP infrastructure fund, raising €600 million at first close.

Based in Paris, Natixis established Mirova in 2012 as its investment division dedicated exclusively to responsible investment. Mirova has about €6 billion in assets under management, of which €1.6 billion represents its infrastructure portfolio, which includes renewable energy.