BNP Paribas AM expands private debt team for fund launch
BNP Paribas Asset Management has appointed Linda Fodil and Thibault Sartori (pictured) as private debt investment directors to support the launch of its new direct lending strategy.
The asset manager, which has deployed €1.7bn (£1.4bn) to finance 250 companies since 2016 via its European SME debt funds, is now launching a direct lending fund, focused on unitranche and junior debt.
The fund mostly targets sponsor-backed corporates in Western Europe with EBITDA in the range of €5-30m.
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Fodil and Sartori are both based in Paris and will report to head of private debt Christophe Carrasco.
Fodil has more than 20 years’ experience in SME financing and investment. She previously worked in the private debt team at AXA IM for seven years as a senior investment professional and voting member of the investment committee. She was focused on senior debt and unitranche transactions across Europe.
Prior to that she spent 10 years in the leveraged finance origination team of HSBC in Paris, where she started her career as an analyst and was promoted to director in 2016. In that role, she focused on the origination and structuring of French leveraged buy-out transactions for midcaps.
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Sartori has more than 10 years’ experience in direct lending. He was previously an investment director in the private debt team of LFPI, having joined in 2014. In this position, he supported and coordinated the development of the direct lending activity in both senior, unitranche and mezzanine transactions, mainly on the small and mid-cap markets. He was focused on origination and execution as well as portfolio monitoring.
Prior to this, he worked in the financial sponsors solutions team of UniCredit in Paris where he was active in the execution of mid and large cap leverage buy-out financings for various top tier private equity funds. He also has experience working with a collateralised loan obligations fund at Natixis CIB.
“We’re glad to have Linda and Thibault joining the team to support and accelerate the development of our unitranche strategy,” said Carrasco. “The team’s credit knowledge is a strong key differentiating factor to select the best counterparties and provide the best risk-return profile.
“Besides, this strategy shares the same investment universe as BNPP European SME debt funds, providing corporates and private equity sponsors such as shareholders a choice between senior and junior debt or unitranche.”
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