Helaba launches "HLB Private Markets" Debt Fund Platform

• “Infrastructure Debt Fund I” is the first of a series of debt funds with target volumes of EUR 200-500 million
• Total initial capital commitment in the triple digit million range
• Global institutional investors gain access to high quality infrastructure senior debt backed by Helaba’s structuring and analytics expertise
• Further asset classes planned for Debt Fund Platform

Frankfurt/London – Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, one of Germany’s leading banks, has reached a significant milestone with the establishment of its new debt fund plat-form "HLB Private Markets" situated in Luxembourg. The “Infrastructure Debt Fund I” is launched with a large Canadian institutional investor and assisted by Mount Street which supported the fund raising strategy for the “Infrastructure Debt Fund I” alongside Helaba and acts as independent portfolio manager for the HLB Private Markets Platform. Helaba’s infra-structure debt strategy provides investors with tailormade debt fund solutions with an in-vestment range from digital infrastructure, renewable energy such as wind and solar plants to land transport assets.

The debt fund is a sub-fund of “HLB Private Markets SCSp, SICAV RAIF”. This first infrastruc-ture debt fund marks the advent of a series of closed-end debt funds, that invest into direct loans originated by Helaba. In the future, Helaba will offer a wider range of investment strategies in various asset classes with co-investment opportunities parallel to Helaba’s high quality credit strategy.

Christian Schmid, member of the board of directors at Helaba, shared his insights on this milestone: "The launch of ‘HLB Private Markets’ signifies a pivotal chapter in Helaba's de-velopment to serve as a catalyst for sustainable strategic growth for both our investor part-ners and our clients. The platform offers a unique access to Helaba’s structuring and analyt-ics expertise via co-investments alongside Helaba. As we launch our inaugural debt fund, we are particularly grateful for the trust and commitment of our Canadian investor partner and we are looking forward to our future partnership of creating value,” says Schmid.

“We are able to allocate 100 % of the committed capital within only three months for the first closing based on Helaba’s sourcing capacities from our substantial deal flow,” says Christian Wolff, Head of Syndicate & Investor Markets, Asset Finance at Helaba. “The trans-actions, originated by Helaba, are characterized by solid and cash flow-strong projects with risk-minimizing financing parameters. Our investor partners are offered highly-attractive transactions with a particular focus on sustainability aspects and will be able to benefit from the increased interest rate environment. Another advantage of “HLB-Private Markets” for our investor community is the renowned independent portfolio manager, Mount Street,” Wolff continues.

Erwin Hennenberg, Managing Director of Mount Street Portfolio Advisors, commented: “We are pleased to support Helaba with the establishment of its new debt fund platform and its Infrastructure Debt Fund I. Our extensive expertise in handling complex portfolios and providing portfolio management services has been further illustrated on this major strategic growth milestone for Helaba.” Ingo Wichelhaus, Co-Head of Business Development, Mount Street added: “We are excited to have supported Helaba with our holistic offering of advisory and solution-driven capabilities, by providing a broader range of investors with access to Helaba’s bespoke, sustainably focused infrastructure debt offering.”

Fund management and services for the debt fund platform are provided by APEX Group Ltd. Legal and tax advice were provided by the German and Luxembourg teams at Luther law-firm.