Groups rush to hire specialist expertise in effort to secure better returns
The competition at the end of last year to win control of Greencoat Capital, one of Europe’s largest renewable infrastructure managers, was fierce.
Eleven offers were put forward, including seven from large US private equity groups, before UK fund manager Schroders triumphed with a final price of £358mn.
Greencoat, which has almost £7bn in assets, will burnish Schroders’ presence in private capital and sustainable assets, two of the industry’s hottest areas. But it also helped the UK’s largest listed asset manager gain access to something that is just as in demand: expertise.
The competition has intensified because it is a global race. Big US private equity companies such as KKR and Apollo want to expand their private assets presence in Europe, while traditional fund managers are also looking to get in on the action.
Read more: FT
