Ardian increases stake in CLH Group

Private investment firm Ardian has agreed to acquire an additional 5% stake in the CLH Group from Compañía Española de Petróleos. No financial terms were disclosed. As a result of this transaction, Ardian will become the largest shareholder in the CLH Group, with its equity stake in the company increased to 15%. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. The CLH Group is a Spanish oil products and storage company.

PRESS RELEASE

Paris, (10 December 2013) – Ardian, the premium independent private investment company, announced today the signing of an agreement to acquire an additional 5% equity stake in the CLH Group (Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos), the Spanish oil products and storage company, from Compañía Española de Petróleos (CEPSA).
With this investment, Ardian will become the largest shareholder in the company, increasing its shareholding to 15%. Ardian first became a shareholder in CLH in 2011 with the acquisition of a 10% stake. The closing of the transaction is expected before the end of this year.
This is the latest transaction from Ardian’s third generation Infrastructure Fund which is currently seeing an exceptionally high number of deal opportunities within European infrastructure. Ardian’s Infrastructure team, which manages and/or advises €3.1 billion of assets, recently completed the acquisition of London Luton Airport as well as an investment in Enel Rete Gas.
CLH is the owner and operator of the largest Spanish oil products and storage network. It has more than 4,000 km of pipeline and seven million m3 of storage capacity, including strategic national reserves.
Mathias Burghardt, Head of Infrastructure at Ardian, said: “The investments recently completed by our team demonstrate the quality of the current European deal pipeline in infrastructure. We will continue to focus on core infrastructure assets and securing proprietary deal flow through our extensive European network.
“This additional investment in CLH is further evidence of Ardian’s long-term commitment to supporting quality and successful companies. CLH is one of the largest and most technologically advanced private companies in the sector. We look forward to working together with the management and other shareholders to continue to help CLH reach its ambitious development targets.”
ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is a premium independent private investment company with assets of US$36bn managed or advised in Europe, North America and Asia. The company, which is majority-owned by its employees, keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and delivers investment performance to its global investors while fuelling growth in economies across the world. Ardian’s investment process blends discipline and conviction with a long-term philosophy.
Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 300 employees working through ten offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Milan, New York, Paris, Singapore, and Zurich. The company offers its 255 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Direct Funds including Infrastructure, Small and Mid Market Enterprise Capital, Innovation & Growth, Co- Investment and Private Debt.