Tikehau Capital has entered into negotiations to acquire U.S. infrastructure manager Star America Infrastructure Partners, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
The 100% acquisition of Star America, which specializes in medium-scale newly constructed infrastructure projects — known as greenfield projects — in sectors including transportation, social infrastructure and communications, would boost Tikehau's assets by over $600 million.
The deal would diversify Tikehau Capital's private debt, real estate and private equity business to include infrastructure assets and would enhance the firm's presence in North America. Current assets under management in the market were not disclosed.
The full terms and conditions are subject to discussions, a Tikehau financial update said.
"This proposed acquisition of Star America Infrastructure Partners is a new step towards the development of Tikehau Capital in North America and will strengthen our expertise in the management of real estate and infrastructure assets," Mathieu Chabran, co-founder of Tikehau Capital, said in the update.
Separately, Tikehau's assets under management fell 1.5% in the first quarter of 2020 but increased 13.7% over the year to €25.4 billion ($28.1 billion). The firm said in the update that unfavorable markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected some asset classes in the first quarter.
