Temasek takes 5% stake in Tikehau
Temasek, the Singaporean wealth fund, is among those injecting €510m of fresh equity into Tikehau, the French investment boutique, with a mission to buy debt and equities in European companies.
The deal, due to be announced on Monday, will give the French asset manager more than €1.5bn of equity, cementing its ability to pursue a strategy of co-investment alongside the limited partners that put money into its funds.
Antoine Flamarion, co-founder of Tikehau, said acquiring undervalued UK investment trusts was a particular focus, though he said Alliance Trust was not a target. RIT Capital Partners, the investment trust of financier Jacob Rothschild, recently walked away from a potential acquisition of the struggling Scottish trust.
Tikehau, which has €8bn of assets under management, would consider investing up to €500m in a deal but could be joined by co-investors, such as Temasek.
The Singaporean fund is leading the injection of equity into Tikehau, with an investment understood to be in excess of €60m.
France’s FFP, the listed Peugeot family office, also becomes a new shareholder of Tikehau Capital Advisors, as does MACSF, the French insurer that is a longstanding partner.
Each now owns 5.5 per cent of the company.
Many UK investment trusts have performed badly of late, and particularly so over the past fortnight. The economic uncertainty triggered by the referendum on Britain’s EU membership amplified concerns about the outlook for equity and property markets.
Analysts at Stifel, the brokerage, highlighted weaknesses at Independent IT, Electra Private Equity and Aberforth Smaller Companies, all of which have declined in value by more than 10 per cent following the referendum.
Four years ago, Tikehau acquired Salvepar, the French investment trust, from Société Générale, the French bank.
In addition to investment trusts, Tikehau’s sights are set on the acquisition of non-performing loan portfolios, especially in Italy, where the country’s banks are under severe pressure.
Jean-Pierre Mustier, an outgoing partner and shareholder at Tikehau, was unveiled last week as the new chief executive of UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank. UniCredit owns 1.7 per cent of Tikehau Capital Advisors.
Paris-based Tikehau does not publish full details of its investment record, but since its foundation in 2004 it has generated returns in its private debt, real estate and minority private equity funds of between 10 and 15 per cent, Mr Flamarion said.