Stafford Capital Partners invests €100m in DIF infrastructure V via secondary transaction
London, 26 May 2022 – Stafford Capital Partners (“Stafford”), a leading international private markets investment and advisory group, is pleased to announce that it has invested approximately EUR 100m through a secondary transaction in DIF Capital Partners’ (“DIF”) fifth flagship infrastructure fund, DIF Infrastructure V.
Stafford acquired the investment from a single UK corporate pension scheme. The pension scheme sold the stake following a change in strategy that has seen it exit several fund holdings across its private markets portfolio in recent years.
The investment marks the first LP secondary to be completed in the 2017-vintage infrastructure fund and sees Stafford acquire a position as the fund reaches fully invested status with significant progress in the asset’s development.
DIF, a leading global independent fund manager that invests in a broad range of greenfield and operational infrastructure companies, held a EUR 1.9bn final close of DIF V in May 2018. DIF V is a 24-asset portfolio of public-private partnerships (PPP/PFI/P3), concessions, regulated assets and renewable energy projects primarily in Europe, North America and Australasia.
Stafford acquired the interest through its fourth infrastructure secondaries fund, Stafford Infrastructure Secondaries Fund IV (“SISF IV”). The investment is the 11th to be completed by SISF IV and brings the fund’s committed capital to approximately EUR 280m.
Through these investments, SISF IV has built up exposure to 150 underlying infrastructure assets well-diversified by country, sector and vintage year. The fund is currently in exclusivity on another three transactions which, if successful, will see it invest a further EUR 150m in the coming months while maintaining the portfolio well within its investment targets.
The fund has now raised EUR 580m from a wide array of institutional investors ahead of its final close expected during Q3 2022.
Commenting on the investment, William Greene, Managing Partner Stafford Infrastructure, said: “Our investment in DIF V offers investors access to a portfolio of high-quality core infrastructure assets and a manager with a proven track record of delivering on both its financial and ESG objectives.
“By investing through the secondaries market, we are delighted to be able to offer investors access to such opportunities in a value accretive manner without the added blind pool risk that can come when investing in a fund at inception.”
About Stafford Capital Partners
Stafford Capital Partners (“Stafford”) is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD %%AuM%%bn in assets under management and advice* for more than %%numClients%% institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, it has a global team of 80+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland, agriculture & food and sustainable private equity through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford has been a UN PRI signatory since 2010 and has committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. It puts sustainability at the centre of its investment process and implements a well-defined ESG program across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586).
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