AllianzGI announces the 4th closing of its Impact Private Credit strategy with €705 million, and its first investments
- With €705 million in commitments received from leading European institutional investors, AllianzGI's Impact Private Credit (IPC) strategy1 has achieved close to 90% of its target in less than a year.
- Two strategic initial investments were closed, underscoring the IPC strategy’s ambition to target market-rate financial returns while delivering an ambitious impact investing value proposition.
- IPC offers senior direct lending solutions to European small and medium-sized enterprises whose core business is to provide solutions to crucial environmental and social challenges.
- IPC's value proposition is based on AllianzGI's proprietary impact framework and discloses under Article 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations (SFDR).
29.04.2025 | Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), one of the world's leading active asset managers, today announces the fourth closing of its Impact Private Credit (IPC) strategy after securing €705 million in commitments from European leading institutional investors, through two funds2. With these commitments, IPC, launched in 2024, has rapidly reached close to 90% of its target. The strategy discloses under Article 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulations (SFDR)3.
Alongside the fundraising activity, the dedicated IPC team made their first two investments in Europe:
- IPC structured and financed the first investment of Eurazeo Planetary Boundaries Fund ( Article 9 SFDR) who acquired a majority stake in Bioline AgroSciences, alongside the family-owned impact investment fund Aurae as minority shareholder. Based in France, Bioline AgroSciences designs, produces and markets biologicals-based solutions to provide growers with targeted and effective pest control in agriculture. Biocontrol solutions reduce the use of chemical pesticides, generating both positive environmental and social impacts by contributing to the safeguarding of biodiversity, reducing river pollution and improving human health, which are some of the key impact themes for AllianzGI. In addition to the acquisition debt, the sole-lender financing will support the growth of the business through organic and buy-and-build strategy which should accelerate the generation of impact.
- The acquisition financing of a provider of recycling and waste management services. By simplifying waste management and prioritising sustainable waste treatment options, the company helps reduce the environmental impact of its clients – notably by increasing recycling rates and thereby reducing waste and carbon emissions. Acting as sole lender, AllianzGI structured a bespoke senior financing to support the growth of the business while addressing two of the its three key impact themes: Climate Change and Planetary Boundaries.
Alexandra Tixier, Lead Portfolio Manager of IPC at AllianzGI comments: “We are delighted with the recent successes of our impact private credit strategy. This additional closing and the first two investments showcase our combined expertise in private credit and impact, and our strong position in the European direct lending market. Although impact investing in private credit is relatively new, we’re seeing an increasing pipeline and opportunities to team-up with impact and non-impact sponsors. We are determined to continue our activities in this sector, to the benefit of both our investee companies, the sponsors we partner with and our investors.”
Diane Mak, Head of Impact Strategy at AllianzGI added: “These two investments meet the criteria of our AllianzGI impact framework for private markets. The companies financed generate a positive, significant and measurable impact and meet a proven need in society by creating clear environmental benefits. These investments constitute as sustainable investments, as required when disclosing under Article 9 of the SFDR, as well as meeting our clients' objectives via their alignment with the Sustainable Development Investment taxonomy and the criteria for climate action and environmental sustainability”.
Part of the Direct Lending platform led by Nadia Nikolova, Head of Direct Lending, the IPC credit team works hand-in-hand with impact experts led by Diane Mak, Head of Impact Strategy, to select European companies which provide products or services that have a positive and measurable contribution to societal challenges, with a focus on three core themes: climate change, planetary boundaries and inclusive capitalism. Additionally, IPC engages companies on their impact and sustainability practices, and will deliver transparent impact and sustainability reporting, accompanied by broader impact management throughout the lifecycle of the investments.
In the private markets, AllianzGI offers a wide range of investment solutions and manages around €99 billion in assets 4.
Contact:
Marion Leblanc-Wohrer
Tel: +33 6 85 15 74 54
Email: marion.leblancwohrer@allianzgi.com
Charlotte Forty de Lamarre
Tel: +33 6 09 06 41 70
Email: charlotte.fortydelamarre@allianzgi.com
Steele & Holt
Servane Taslé
Tel: +33 6 66 58 84 28
Email: servane@steeleandholt.com
Julien Toury
Tel: +33 6 74 04 51 61
Email: julien@steeleandholt.com
About Allianz Global Investors
Allianz Global Investors is one of the world's leading asset managers, with over 650 investment professionals in more than 20 offices worldwide and €571 billion* of assets under management. We invest for the long term and seek to generate value for our clients at every stage of the investment process. We do this actively - in the way we work in partnership with our customers, anticipating their evolving needs and developing solutions in both public and private markets. Our focus on protecting and enhancing our clients' assets naturally leads us to commit to sustainable development in order to bring about positive change. Our aim is to enhance the investment experience of our clients, wherever they are and whatever their objectives.
* Data as at 31 December 2024. Total assets under management refers to assets or portfolios of securities, valued at current market value, for which Allianz Global Investors companies are responsible to clients for making discretionary investment management and portfolio management decisions, either directly or through a sub-advisor (this includes Allianz Global Investors assets which are now sub-advised by Voya IM from 25 July 2022). This excludes assets for which Allianz Global Investors companies are primarily responsible only for administrative services. Assets under management are managed on behalf of third parties as well as on behalf of the Allianz Group.
About Impact Private Credit
Through direct lending instruments, IPC's strategy supports the development of leading impact businesses that provide solutions to our planet's challenges by focusing on three central themes: climate change, planetary boundaries and inclusive capitalism. The target companies - European small and medium-sized enterprises - offer products or services that have a measurable positive impact on key environmental or social challenges. For environmental investments, solutions include clean and efficient energy, resource efficiency, sustainable food and agriculture. On the social front, solutions include access to quality, accessible and affordable health care and education.
The IPC strategy is managed by a team based in London, Zurich and Paris. It is a co-creation between the Development and Impact Credit team, led by Nadia Nikolova, and the Impact Strategy team, led by Diane Mak. This collaboration aims to deliver market-beating financial returns while offering an ambitious impact value proposition based on AllianzGI's proprietary impact framework. Dedicated impact experts, independent from the investment team, assess investment opportunities to ensure that they generate a positive, meaningful and measurable impact. IPC will monitor and manage impact throughout the investment lifecycle, and produce regular impact and sustainability reports for investors. In addition, in collaboration with the lead investors, AllianzGI has structured both funds with an impact-linked performance fee mechanism, making part of the remuneration conditional on the achievement of specific impact objectives in addition to the requirement to achieve a minimum financial return.
1 Private debt investments are highly illiquid and are only suitable for professional investors with a long-term investment strategy. This is a commercial communication. Please consult the hedge fund's information document before making any final investment decision.
2 Comprising a multi-investor fund and a single-investor fund.
3 Impact Private Credit discloses under Article 9 SFDR: EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.) Information accurate at the time of publication. Investors should take into account all the characteristics and/or objectives of the fund as described in its legal documentation.
4 As at 31 December 2024