French national investment bank Bpifrance closed the first stage of its LAC 1 fund after raising €4.2 billion (Dh17.8bn) from private and sovereign investors including Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, which contributed €1bn to the fund.
“With a current investment capacity close to €4.2bn, including over €3.2bn raised from investors and €1bn of debt, this fund invests in French-listed multinationals, leveraging on Bpifrance’s knowledge of the technological transitions and on its strong expertise in the governance of listed companies,” the investment bank said.
“The successful closing of LAC 1 fund underpins the attractiveness of France for investors and sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East.”
The fund was set up to invest significant long-term capital in leading French companies with the objective of supporting their strategic plans and maximising value creation. Its target was to raise €10bn to be invested in approximately 15 to 20 listed companies with a market capitalisation above €500 million over the next decade.
France and the UAE have long enjoyed strong trade and investment ties. Earlier this month, Mubadala invested in a French healthcare technology company through its €400m venture capital fund, the first investment the tech fund has made in France.
The fund invested $18m (Dh66.1m) in Owkin, a company that applies federated learning techniques to medical research, Mubadala said earlier this month.
Over 20 investors including large international and French institutional investors such as Covea, Axa, CNP Assurances, Crédit Agricole Assurances and BNP Paribas Cardif also participated in the first round of the LAC 1 fund.
“The well-performing, internationalised and innovative multinationals that we aim to invest in will also have the support required to further development in the GCC and the Middle East,” Nicolas Dufourcq, chief executive of Bpifrance, said.
Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar and France's EDF Group are also building large-scale renewable energy facilities around the world.
They include a 400-megawatt wind farm in Saudi Arabia, the largest in the kingdom, the 800MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai and a hybrid solar power plant in Morocco.
