CANDRIAM and its sister company New York Life Investments Alternatives (“NYLIA”) announce a strategic partnership with Kartesia Management SA (“Kartesia”), a European specialist in private equity solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as the acquisition of a minority stake in the company. Terms of the transaction, subject to customary regulatory approvals, were not disclosed. This should be finalized by the end of 2020.
Kartesia is one of the main European investors in the private markets, with more than 2.5 billion euros in assets under management and expertise covering the entire spectrum of primary and secondary LBOs, including senior debt, mezzanine loans, minority shareholdings and CLOs.
As part of this partnership, Kartesia will retain all its management and investment autonomy, while benefiting from the operational, financial and distribution network resources of CANDRIAM and NYLIA to accelerate its development. In Europe, the partnership will allow CANDRIAM to add European private credit to its multi-specialist offer. In the United States, it will complement NYLIA’s strong presence in American private credit.
Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of CANDRIAM and President of New York Life Investment Management International, comments: “We are very happy to join forces with Kartesia and to add European private credit to our multi-specialist offer. For ten years, Kartesia has established a remarkable track record in the European small and medium-sized business market, and its fundamental values are those of CANDRIAM and New York Life Investments Alternatives. I am confident that the combination of our strengths will benefit our clients while allowing us to take advantage of a changing global market environment. “
Christopher Taylor, CEO of Madison Capital Funding and Director of New York Life Investments Alternatives, adds: “We are delighted to welcome Kartesia. As a benchmark investor in the private credit market in Europe, Kartesia will bring us its long experience in financing small and medium-sized enterprises, complementing our range of expertise in global alternative investments. We look forward to working with Kartesia and continuing to grow and diversify our business in order to meet the expectations of our customers in all market environments over the coming years. “
Jaime Prieto and Damien Scaillierez, Managing Partners of Kartesia Management SA, conclude: “We are enthusiastic about building this partnership which will strengthen Kartesia’s structures and generate new growth opportunities for our team and our customers. CANDRIAM’s expertise in ESG investment and its large distribution network in Europe, combined with the recognized know-how of New York Life Investments Alternatives in the SME market in the United States and Asia, make this partnership the formula ideal for allowing us to continue to grow and develop our activities. “
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