CVC, a global private markets manager focused on private equity, secondaries and credit, has acquired a majority stake in DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), a leading infrastructure manager, and has committed to acquiring the remaining shares over time.
Private Equity News Luxembourg
This acquisition creates a global private markets manager with seven complementary strategies and approximately €177 billion of total assets under management.
DIF, headquartered in Amsterdam, manages €16 billion of assets and has a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices.
DIF operates two different investment strategies – the Core / Build-to-Core funds and the Core-plus funds – and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.
The tie-up with CVC is expected to accelerate DIF’s growth, as it continues to deepen and widen both its investment capabilities and its geographic reach. DIF will continue to operate independently under its current brand and leadership team.
CVC’s acquisition of DIF provides it with a leading infrastructure platform that is highly complementary to its existing private equity, secondary and credit strategies.
The combination of these two firms creates a global private markets manager with a diverse range of investment strategies.
Commenting on the acquisition, CVC Chair and Co-Founder, Rolly van Rappard said, “Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies. We have known the DIF team for several years, and we are delighted to partner with one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth.”
Rob Lucas, Managing Partner at CVC, added, “We are excited to join forces with DIF, a top-performing global infrastructure manager.
Private Equity News Netherlands
DIF’s business model and culture is deeply aligned with our local model, and our new infrastructure platform will prove highly complementary to our leading private equity, secondary and credit strategies. We are pleased to welcome Wim, the DIF Partners and the entire DIF team to the CVC group and together, we look forward to being a global leader in infrastructure.”
DIF’s CEO and Managing Partner, Wim Blaasse, said, “We are delighted to be teaming up with CVC, which is a natural step in the evolution of DIF and, together with my Partners, I look forward to leading DIF in this next phase of growth. This transaction enables us to benefit from CVC’s global platform, scale and investor relationships, and to double down on important infrastructure sectors like Energy Transition and Digitalisation while retaining independence over our investment decisions.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is expected to close in Q4 2023 or Q1 2024. The Dutch works council of DIF has been informed and positively advised on the transaction.
