Ardian Mops Up $20 Billion, to Invest in Europe

Ardian, a world-leading investment firm, on Thursday said that it has raised $20 billion for its latest and largest flagship infrastructure platform to date and is set to invest predominantly in Europe.

Ardian’s largest infrastructure platform, comprising Ardian Infrastructure Fund VI (AIF VI), which reached its hard cap of $13.5 billion, and co-investments alongside the fund. AIF VI is 90% larger than the previous generation, Ardian Infrastructure Fund V (AIF V), demonstrating growing investor interest and the strength of Ardian’s differentiated strategy.

The successful fundraise cements Ardian’s position as an international leader in essential infrastructure, with its unique investment approach and strong track record, offering one of the most stable and consistent platforms in the market.

The fund will continue Ardian’s strategy, developed over two decades, of combining an industrial approach with investment expertise across three verticals that are powering the future and supporting Europe’s competitiveness: energy, transport and digital infrastructure.

Despite a challenging fundraising environment which has seen infrastructure funds raise over longer periods of time than prior years, AIF VI was raised in two years with an increase of 90% on the previous generation.

The fund attracted strong interest from both existing and new investors across the globe, with commitments from 229 limited partners (LPs) in Europe, North America, APAC and the Middle East, Ardian said.

The fund saw the biggest increase in commitments from investors in the United States, with the number of US investors more than doubling and accounting for 14% of capital raised, up from $1bn in AIF V.

This comes amid growing US investor appetite for investing in Europe. Asian investors also showed strong interest, accounting for 32% of the capital raised, including many key Australian investors for the first time.

The number of investors in AIF VI doubled compared to AIF V. Investors having re-upped into AIF VI increased their commitments in average by c.40%.

Ardian has $47 billion in assets under management (AUM) for its infrastructure strategy covering the European and American essential infrastructure market as well as thematic funds related to the energy transition.

AIF VI has already successfully deployed more than 40% of its capital, including in landmark infrastructure assets like London Heathrow Airport, Europe’s largest airport, where Ardian is the largest shareholder.

Building on Ardian’s expertise in airports, the team, together with Finint Infrastrutture announced the signing of the agreement for the joint indirect acquisition of Venice Airport.

Additional Investments

Additional AIF VI investments include in Verne, a UK-headquartered data center platform, powered entirely by decarbonised energy, in Attero, a leading European waste management and circular economy platform, which is currently developing a 640 kilo-tonnes per annum of carbon capture and storage project on its Moerdijk plant, in Akuo, a pioneer in the renewable energy sector, specialising in wind power, photovoltaics and storage, with 1.9GW of installed capacity across Europe, and in    Energia Group, one of the largest energy utilities on the island of Ireland serving almost 900,000 homes and businesses.

Mathias Burghardt, Executive Vice-President, CEO of Ardian France and Head of Infrastructure, Ardian, said that more than ever, clients expect high absolute returns decorrelated from financial market from Ardian.

Amid Ardian’s continued strong performance, this milestone fundraise reflects the success of its differentiated strategy that the company has applied consistently since inception 20 years ago, he said.

“We have expanded into new geographies while maintaining a clear and selective focus on essential and capital-intensive assets in three key sectors: energy, transport and digital infrastructure. Our asset management approach is precise: value creation must come from operational improvement, not market cycles. In a market that rewards clarity and conviction, our approach has stood the test of time, and our strategy remains consistent, differentiated and rooted in a long-term view to create value,” he added.