F2i SGR reaches EUR 7 billion in funding and launches its first infrastructure debt fund

PRESS RELEASE
F2i SGR reaches EUR 7 billion in funding and launches its first infrastructure debt fund
With a target of EUR 500 million, the new fund is the first infrastructure debt fund managed by an Italian asset manager, with a focus on supporting sustainability-driven infrastructure investments in key sectors

Milan, 1st August 2022 - F2i SGR, Italy's largest infrastructure asset manager and leading player in Europe, has topped EUR 7 billion in funding with the launch of its first Infrastructure Debt Fund which has a target of EUR 500 million. The new Infrastructure Debt Fund 1 (IDF 1), the first of its kind managed by an Italian asset manager, successfully completed its first closing, amounting to EUR 310 million subscribed by Italian and foreign investors (Insurance Companies, Banks, Pension Funds, Banking Foundations).

IDF1's investment strategy focuses on senior and junior debt through loans (direct lending) and bonds, to support the development and refurbishment of infrastructure in Italy and EU countries in key sustainability sectors such as Energy & Utilities (renewables, energy efficiency, networks), Telecom (broadband, data centres and towers), Social Infrastructure (hospitals, PPPs), Environment (water services, circular economy), Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

The Fund's objective is to mobilise long-term capital by offering institutional investors (particularly Pension Funds, Insurance Companies, Banking Foundations) an opportunity to invest in Italy and EU in infrastructure sectors that have a major impact on economic and social growth, through a product that offers a return which, adjusted for the historically low risk, is particularly attractive for fixed income investment strategies. 

"F2i is Italy's largest infrastructure investor, capable of channelling resources from Italian and international, private and public investors into projects that are essential for the sustainable growth of society and the economy. The launch of this first debt fund adds another important tool to our strategy, providing greater flexibility, diversification and opportunities for our investors," commented Renato Ravanelli, Chief Executive Officer of F2i SGR.

“This initiative," continued the CEO, "is particularly relevant in fulfilling the need for private capital to support and complement public resources within the context of the Next Generation EU.  By launching the Fund and, more generally, the strategy of investing in infrastructure debt, F2i SGR offers a complementary and additional tool with respect to traditional financing sources to support infrastructure development, working in close synergy with the banking market and infrastructure equity investments".

The investment team specialised in debt is led by Gianluca Gustani and fits in F2i's organisation with its proven and extensive expertise in the infrastructure sector.

Infrastructure debt investment delivers consistent and predictable returns, offering investors an immediate cash yield since deployment. Infrastructure financing, which is mostly at floating rates, also offers protection against the current rise in interest rates and in the medium to long term indirectly against the rise in inflation.

IDF1 qualifies as a product under Article 8 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). In accordance with European regulations, the Fund is therefore a product that not only integrates sustainability risk into the investment decision-making process while considering the main negative sustainability impacts, but it also favours environmental and social aspects in compliance with the principles of good governance adopted by the companies being financed.