Alantra partners with private investor Ion Ion to develop its pan-European Private Debt platform

Madrid – Alantra, the independent global mid-market financial services firm, and Spanish family office Ion Ion have signed a strategic agreement to accelerate the pan-European expansion of Alantra’s Private Debt platform.

Ion Ion is a leading family office in Spain, controlled by Jon Riberas. The firm invests in a wide range of asset classes including direct private alternative investments with a multi-strategy approach, targeting geographic and sector diversification.

The partnership agreement between Alantra and Ion Ion includes the following:

1. Ion Ion will commit capital to Alantra’s existing and future private debt strategies, alongside Alantra and Grupo Mutua, through their commonly funded Investment Pool.[1]
2. Ion Ion will acquire a strategic equity stake in Alantra’s Private Debt platform through a capital increase. This will bolster the financial resources required for the platform’s business development across Europe.

Alantra is one of the most active private debt players in the mid-market space in Southern Europe, having deployed more than €2bn across five countries. Together with Indigo Capital, an established player in the alternative finance market in which Alantra holds a 49% stake, the platform employs 20 professionals working from its offices in Paris, Milan, and Madrid across four different strategies:

• Corporate Direct Lending strategy specializes in offering long-term flexible financing to mid-sized European companies with tickets ranging between €10m and €30m. The strategy started in 2015 with the launch of Alteralia I, a €140m debt fund, followed by Alteralia II, a €205m pan-European debt fund, launched in 2018. Alteralia III is currently in fundraising targeting €250m+. The fund has held its first close also with commitments that came from the strategic partnership with Ion Ion and has already completed four investments in Italy, France, and Spain.

• Indigo Capital provides flexible capital solutions to privately owned businesses seeking to reorganize their ownership or those with significant growth financing needs. Indigo Capital specializes in financing small and mid-sized European businesses worth between €20 and €300m, employing a combination of private bonds and preferred equity instruments. Indigo Capital’s third fund Indigo Capital III with a target size of c. €300m has just held its first close at €120m, also with commitments provided by the strategic partnership with Ion Ion. Since inception, the firm’s 11 investment professionals have completed over 70 investments worth more than €1.1bn across Western Europe through its three offices in Paris, Lyon, and Milan.

• Real Estate Debt strategy provides long-term flexible financing solutions to real estate companies across various asset classes in Europe. The first fund, has closed 11 transactions in Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal spanning multiple real estate sub sectors, including logistics, hotels, offices, student accommodation, and self-storage, with tickets ranging between €5m and €25m.

• Credit Opportunities strategy, which has already achieved a first close and is supported by a substantial commitment from the partnership, offers flexible financing solutions to sound mid-market companies across all sectors in Southern Europe in complex and/or time-sensitive situations. Tickets range from €5m to €30m.

Beyond Alantra’s Private Debt platform, the strategic agreement with Ion Ion also represents an important milestone in Alantra’s broader project for its Alternative Asset Management business, which aims to replicate the expansion achieved by its Investment Banking division through diversifying, scaling, and enhancing the European exposure of its Alternative Asset Management business.

[1] As part of their partnership in Alantra Asset Management, Alantra and Grupo Mutua agreed to create a €100m investment pool dedicated to investing in products managed by Alantra’s AM division (GP commitments). Both parties contributed €50m each to the pool.