SCOR Investment Partners announces the launch of its SCOR MID MARKET LOANS fund in partnership with LBO France
SCOR Investment Partners, the SCOR group’s portfolio management company, announces the launch of its eighth leveraged loans fund - SCOR MID MARKET LOANS - in partnership with LBO France, one of the pioneers of private equity in France.
The SCOR MID MARKET fund, which is open to subscriptions and seeks to raise EUR 300 million, focuses on European mid-market loans and invests primarily in first lien secured loans issued by European companies. The fund aims to deliver an annual return of 3-month Euribor + 400bps. Loans will be backed by covenants and benefit from structures with elevated equity protection.
In identifying financing opportunities in companies with EBITDA of less than EUR 20 million for this new fund, SCOR Investment Partners works alongside LBO France to benefit from their market and sourcing expertise. LBO France acts as investment advisor.
Institutional investors benefit from the combined expertise of SCOR Investment Partners, which manages more than EUR 1.3 billion of this asset class through eight leveraged loan funds, and LBO France, which invests in companies with an enterprise value of less than EUR 100 million since 15 years and has been operating in the French private equity market for more than 30 years.
François de Varenne, Chief Executive Officer of SCOR Investment Partners, comments: « Launching the SCOR MID MARKET LOANS fund enables us to grant our investors access to sources of recurring returns within a risk-controlled framework. The European leverage loan mid-market offers an attractive yield premium and financing structures which remain conservative. Partnering with a key player such as LBO France reinforces our commitment to small and mid-size French companies. »
Robert Daussun, President of LBO France, adds: « By combining the strengths and expertise of SCOR Investment Partners and LBO France, we will offer investors access to a wide range of companies and increase financing opportunities in this deep yet exclusive market segment. Together, SCOR Investment Partners and LBO France continuously innovate to fully participate in the financing of the real economy and to support the growth and internationalization of both well-established companies with strong fundamentals, and companies at the cutting edge of technology with a solid growth potential. Our ambition is to be, together and even better than yesterday, the key partners of tomorrow’s European success stories. »