ECM launches 750 million euro European infrastructure debt fund
By Claire Ruckin and Jack Aldane
LONDON (Reuters) - Wells Fargo-owned ECM Asset Management (ECM) has launched a 750 million euro (600.14 million pounds) European infrastructure debt fund, ECM announced on Wednesday.
The fund will invest its parallel euro and sterling vehicles in senior debt for high value/low risk assets across infrastructure projects and utilities in continental Europe and the UK, on a buy-and-hold basis.
ECM has teamed up with Santander in order to secure strong deal flow, giving it access to a large number of diverse transactions in Europe and the UK on a first right of refusal basis.
ECM said it had entered into a strategic partnership with a leading European player but declined to comment on it being Santander. Santander was not immediately available to comment.
The fund will mainly focus in floating rate debt, with an ability to invest up to 20 percent in fixed rate debt across the renewable energy, social infrastructure, transport, power, oil and gas, telecoms and utilities sectors.
"With government funding reduced globally and banks' appetite for long term lending structurally diminished by Basel III new capital and liquidity rules, funding is evolving as these traditional sources decrease. This is a great time therefore to take advantage of the sizeable supply and demand gap present in this space," said Nicola Beretta Covacivich, ECM Head of infrastructure finance.
The fund is structured as a closed-ended English limited partnership and is due to have a first close by the end of the first quarter in 2015.
ECM manages $8 billion of European fixed income credit assets across a number of credit asset classes including investment grade, high yield corporate bonds, asset backed securities, bank capital, senior secured loans, high yield, European emerging market debt and Infrastructure debt.
(Editing by Christopher Mangham)
