France's RAISE poaches team from EDF for European infrastructure fund

Electricite de France SA

01/06/2023 07:00

By Tommy Wilkes
       LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - French asset manager RAISE
has hired a team from power giant EDF's investment arm  EDF.PA 
to run an infrastructure fund seeking 750 million euros ($826
million) to speed up decarbonisation of Europe's energy,
telecoms and transportation industries, it said on Thursday.
    RAISE Infrastructure will target unlisted companies where it
believes it can help move companies to a lower-carbon future, 
while also supporting biodiversity preservation in firms' supply
chains, its new managers Fanny Grillo and Pierre Benoist
d'Anthenay said in an interview.
    Investments could be made through taking majority stakes in
businesses or via special purpose vehicles that provide finance
for specific assets, the former EDF Invest managers added.
    "The aim is to transform existing assets and to start a new
story for these assets. We are convinced that transitioning
these assets will create value," Grillo said.
    Another EDF colleague, Romain Meiller, has also been hired.
    RAISE is a Paris-based asset manager launched in 2013 that
is focused on sustainable finance and has 1.9 billion euros in
assets under management. 
    It says its investment teams donate half of the carried
interest - the compensation private equity managers earn and
which is largely linked to performance - to philanthropic
efforts.
    D'Anthenay, who previously managed EDF Invest's global
portfolio, said there were big opportunities for funds that
could get money to companies wanting to transition away from
carbon, given many firms lack the skills to decarbonise and an
estimated 28 trillion euros of investment will be needed to help
Europe reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
    "We believe there is a premium in acting very quickly on
green capex. An industry which is moving to green capex quickly
is winning and protecting market share," he said.  
    EDF Invest is the investment arm of France's EDF Group,
managing its unlisted assets. It manages more than 9 billion
euros of equity worldwide, according to its website.
($1 = 0.9084 euros)

 (Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((thomas.wilkes@tr.com; +44 (0) 7769 955711;))