Ardian Infrastructure becomes largest shareholder in SPMR after acquiring stakes from Total and BPTOTAL AND BP
Paris, July 3rd 2017 –
Ardian, the independent private investment company,
today announces that it has closed the acquisition of a 44% stake in SPMR (“Société du Pipeline Méditerranée Rhône”), the refined oil pipeline network company, from Total and BP.
Following the transaction, Ardian will be the largest shareholder in SPMR alongside Trapil, Esso, Eni, PetroFrance and Thevenin & Ducrot, who all remain invested in the company.
SPMR owns and operates a pipeline network of strategic interest, which connects the Fos-Lavera oil facilities in southeastern France with the Lyon area, Northern French Alps, Switzerland and the main
French Riviera oil depots. The network is 760km long and transports around 9.5Mm3 of products per year.
This acqisition will further enhance Ardian Infrastructure’s energy portfolio, which already contains cornerstone investments in Géosel and CLH, two of the largest hydrocarbon storage and pipeline operators in Europe.
Mathias Burghardt, Head of Ardian Infrastructure, said: “This new investment in a strategic asset in France reinforces Ardian’s foothold in the European energy logistic sector and strengthens our relationships with major oil companies.”
Amir Sharifi, Director of Ardian Infrastructure added: “As a responsibly-minded investor in infrastructure, we value SPMR’s long-term operational excellence. Upholding these standards will be a key focus of our strategy for the assets.” Pipeline transportation of refined products is the safest and most economical means of transporting oil products in the region.
ABOUT ARDIAN
Ardian, founded in 1996 and led by Dominique Senequier, is an independent private investment company with assets of US$62bn 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 embodies three values: excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship. Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 450 employees working through twelve offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid, Zurich, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, Singapore, Jersey, Luxembourg. The company offers its 580 investors a diversified choice of funds covering the full range of asset classes, including Ardian Funds of Funds (primary, early secondary and secondary), Ardian Private Debt, Ardian Buyout (including Ardian Mid Cap Buyout Europe & North America, Ardian Expansion,
Ardian Growh and Ardian Co-Investment), Ardian Infrastructure, Ardian Real Estate and Ardian Mandates.
