AEW acquires Natixis private debt business
Real estate manager AEW Europe has completed its acquisition of Natixis Investment Manager’s private debt business.
Paris and Hong Kong-based Natixis specialises in originating and structuring infrastructure and private debt real estate investments.
The deal will bring a further €1.2bn (£1.03bn) in assets under management for AEW, bolstering its infrastructure and real assets base.
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Natixis’s 30-strong team, including chief investment officer Denis Prouteau, will all move across to AEW. The new platform will be overseen by Jonathan Stevens, head of private debt at AEW. Stevens joined the company from Blackrock in October of last year.
AEW said that the acquisition will allow the firm to provide its clients with further opportunities for diversification, while supporting the growth of its private debt business.
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“The completion of this acquisition represents a key opportunity for our business, complementing our existing foothold in real estate debt, which has grown rapidly over the past 11 years, and creating an enlarged private debt platform,” said Rob Wilkinson, European chief executive at AEW.
“Private debt is a strategic growth area for us, with strong appeal and an attractive risk profile for our clients in a changing interest rate environment.”
AEW’s private debt platform has grown significantly over the past few years. By the end of 2023 it had more than €7.4bn of client commitments.
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