BNP Paribas opens its private equity direct investment activity to its clients and announces an interim closing of BNP Paribas Agility Capital at € 525 M

• BNP Paribas Principal Investments, the entity in charge of investments for the own account of BNP Paribas, has been investing directly in non-listed European mid-caps for more than 12 years.
• For the first time, BNP Paribas Group offers its European institutional clients and family offices the opportunity to join this strategy via the BNP Paribas Agility Capital fund, in which the Group commits 50%.
• Following the successful launch of this initiative in 2020, illustrated by an interim closing at already € 525 M, BNP Paribas Agility Capital aims to finalise its fundraising at more than € 600 M in 2021.

The investment strategy deployed by BNP Paribas Agility Capital is characterised by its great flexibility on instruments (minority equity, preferred equity, subordinated debt/mezzanine, etc.), types of transactions (including in the secondary market) and sectors, in close collaboration with the financial sponsors that are the majority shareholders of the companies concerned. This agile approach allows adapting to the economic context and financial structure of the companies supported (10 to 15 new investments a year in European mid-caps).

The Principal Investments team, on behalf of BNP Paribas, has been successfully deploying this investment strategy for over 12 years. It relies on an in-depth analysis and a rigorous selection of supported companies, and is now being pursued by the same team within the dedicated management company BNP Paribas Agility Capital, with the same objective of optimising the risk/return ratio and diversification.

“We are particularly grateful to our European institutional investors and family offices for their trust, which enabled us to raise € 525 M in the course of 2020, against a backdrop of an unprecedented health crisis. This higher than expected amount is testament to the relevance of the investment strategy deployed by our team.” said Christophe Lenouvel, Head of BNP Paribas Principal Investments and Chairman of BNP Paribas Agility Capital.

The fund raising continues in 2021 with a view to exceeding € 600 M.