Natixis ramps up infra debt with second Korean tie-up

Natixis has formed partnership with Korea’s Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Asset Management that will see them co-invest in infrastructure and aviation debt originated by the French lender.

The two entities, part of Seoul-based conglomerate Samsung Group, aim to deploy up to $500 million over five years through the arrangement. Samsung Life will invest on its own behalf, while Samsung Asset Management will place the loans among other Korean institutional investors.

Natixis will retain a portion of each transaction on its balance sheet while providing servicing and administration of all assets in the portfolio, it said in a statement.

The tie-up is the bank’s sixth with institutional investors targeting infrastructure debt and its second with an Asian partner.

Only last week, Natixis and Korea’s KB Insurance signed a deal through which they will target infrastructure and aviation assets globally. KB is looking to invest up to $400 million over three years into loans originated the bank.

“Alternative asset classes, and particularly infrastructure and aviation debt, are of increasing interest to Asia Pacific institutional investors due to the stability and long-term yield they offer,” said Bruno Le Saint, head of structured and asset finance for Asia Pacific at Natixis.

At the end of last year, Natixis teamed up with insurer Swiss Life to invest €300 million in infrastructure debt. It had previously sealed infrastructure debt partnerships with French mutual insurer MACIF Group, Paris-based CNP Assurances and Belgium’s Ageas.