BNP Paribas Asset Management has announced the launch of BNP Paribas Agility Co-Invest Fund 2 SLP, a Fonds Professionnel Spécialisé (‘FPS’) authorised by the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (‘AMF’).
This is the second vintage of BNPP AM’s European Private Equity co-investment strategy, after the full deployment of BNP Paribas Agility Fund, a EUR739 million co-investment fund raised over 2020 and 2021.
Agility 2 aims to build a resilient and diversified portfolio of 30 to 50 minority equity investments across a wide range of industries and with a pan-European focus. The investments will take the form of co-investments, flex equity and GP-led deals and will range from EUR10 million to EUR50 million each.
The firm writes that Agility 2 will be managed by a seasoned team of 15 investment professionals located in Paris, Brussels and Madrid and will rely on a 15 year track record of in-depth analysis and deal selection. It will leverage BNPP AM Private Assets’ Fund Platform, which has relationship with 170 general partners (‘GPs’) and AUM of EUR15 billion, to originate co-investment opportunities from the best European GPs.
Agility 2 targets a size of EUR700 million to EUR900 million and benefits from a EUR300 million anchor investment from BNP Paribas. Agility 2 is an Article 8 fund according to SFDR regulation.
Lionel Gomez and Damien Fournier, co-heads of BNPP AM’s Private Equity team says: “Agility 2 builds on the success of the first vintage. It will benefit from increased origination capabilities thanks to BNPP AM Private Assets’ Fund Platform and from enhanced ESG capabilities with the support of BNPP AM’s Sustainability Centre. We believe this new vintage is a great opportunity to showcase our ability to target the best risk-adjusted returns through diversification and portfolio construction”.
Agility 2 will be managed by BNPP AM Private Assets, a specialist investment division established at the beginning of 2023. BNPP AM Private Assets combines a range of private asset management expertise from across the BNP Paribas Group. BNPP AM Private Assets has assets under management and advisory of EUR40 billion.
