Paris, 27 March 2019 –  Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, today announces it has entered into exclusive negotiation with a view to sell its c.50% stake in Indigo Group, the world-leading car parking & individual mobility group, to Core Infrastructure Fund II (and its co-investment vehicle) managed by Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainability investing, which would acquire a c.35% share, alongside MEAG (c.15%) the asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO, after concluding a proprietary sale process. Crédit Agricole Assurances will retain its stake, with the remaining shares being held by the Group’s management and employees.

Indigo is the world leader in parking and individual mobility, operating and driving development in both on- and off-street parking across continents, as well as providing individual mobility services. The company operates in over 750 cities around the world with more than 20,000 staff across 10 countries. It has over 5,050 car parks, more than 2.3 million managed parking spaces and 3,000km of managed on-street parking.

Since Ardian became a shareholder in 2014, Indigo has experienced significant growth, particularly through its international strategy which focused on building strength in markets in which Indigo can take a leadership position, across Europe and North and South America. Indigo also launched its new Mobility and Digital Solutions business with support from Ardian and Crédit Agricole Assurances. This business comprises OPnGO, a digital parking platform with more than 180,000 active users, and Indigo Weel, a mobility-sharing platform, offering vehicles including bicycles, scooters and cars, with a growing presence across France.

Serge Clemente, CEO of Indigo Group, said: “Ardian’s investment in Indigo has enabled the business to accelerate Indigo’s growth, most notably in Europe and the Americas. Indigo is now a leading player in individual mobility globally, and this is a position which has been both established and expanded with Ardian’s support. Indigo is at the heart of how individual mobility is evolving, both through our constantly developing parking networks and our digital mobility services. I am glad to have the opportunity to welcome Mirova and MEAG, who would, alongside Crédit Agricole Assurances, help us work towards the various pillars of our ambitious Goal 2025 plan, including the development in China with our partner Sunsea.”

Laurent Fayollas, Senior Managing Director at Ardian Infrastructure, added: “We are proud to have supported Indigo’s management team, who have created an innovative company which has become a leading player in Europe and the Americas. Their entrepreneurial talent has significantly contributed to the group’s growth as well as its positioning as an individual mobility leader through digital innovation.”

Gwenola Chambon & Mounir Corm, Mirova’s Heads of Infrastructure Funds, added: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to potentially become a central shareholder of Indigo alongside like-minded investors Crédit Agricole Assurances and MEAG. We are committed to supporting Indigo and its management team in offering digital innovation to their clients as well as high quality and sustainable mobility infrastructure and services to local communities in France and worldwide.”

Holger Kerzel, MEAG Managing Director, added: “With this potential investment in Indigo and its parking and mobility operations, MEAG provides Munich Re access to sustainable earnings to cover payment obligations in its core business. As a division of Munich Re, we access the extensive know-how of a global investment enterprise, which we use to generate value at multiple levels of our investment process.”

The transaction will be finalised after consultation with employee representative bodies and will be subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$90bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 585 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 800 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt.

Mirova is the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to responsible investment. Through a conviction-driven investment approach, Mirova’s goal is to combine value creation over the long term with sustainable development. Mirova’s talents have been pioneers in many areas of sustainable finance. Their ambition is to keep innovating to propose the best tailored and most impactful solutions to their clients. As of December 2018, Mirova has EUR 10.1 billion of assets under management.With over 15 years’ experience in the structuring and management managing of infrastructure assets, Mirova’s Infrastructure Teams provide institutional clients with investment opportunities both in greenfield and brownfield assets while supporting the sustainable development of local economies.

MEAG is the proprietary asset manager of Munich Re and ERGO and also offers its vast expertise to third-party institutional and private clients. Across its locations in Europe, North America and Asia, MEAG manages total investments valued at €252bn. Since 2009, MEAG has been building a strong diversified infrastructure equity and credit portfolio, with teams based in Munich and New York City. Recently MEAG has reached a first closing of €200 million for its new MEAG Infrastructure Debt Fund targeting €500 million.

Indigo Group, holding about 100% of Indigo Infra, OPnGO and INDIGO® weel, is a key global player in car parking and urban mobility, that manages more than 5 050 car parks, 3 000 km of on-street parking, 2.3 million parking spaces and related services in 10 different countries.

Ardian was advised by Nomura (financial advisor), Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Paris) LLP (legal and tax advisor), PwC (financial, tax and legal due diligence), BCG (strategic and market advisor) Bureau Veritas (technical due diligence) and SIACI SAINT HONORÉ (insurance due diligence).
Mirova was advised by Natixis (financial advisor), Linklaters LLP (legal advisor), Allen & Overy (legal advisor), KPMG (financial due diligence), FIDAL (tax due diligence), ATKearney (commercial due diligence), Arcadis (technical) and MARSH (insurance).
MEAG was advised by LEK (Commercial), Clifford Chance (Legal), MunichRe/Arcadis (Technical &Insurance), EY (Financial & Tax & Financial Model), Operis (Financial Model).
Management of Indigo was advised by Scotto Partners (Legal advisor).