Vauban IP Closes Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Progeni S.p.A

Vauban Infrastructure Partners closes acquisition of a majority stake in Progeni S.p.A, a concession contract for the provision of non-medical services to the Niguarda Hospital in Milan.

Vauban Infrastructure Partners (“Vauban”), an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announces today the acquisition of a majority stake in Progeni S.p.A, (“Progeni”), a special purpose vehicle that manages the concession contract for the provision of non-medical services for the Niguarda Hospital in Milan, Italy. The sellers were mostly composed of Italian industrial players (CMB, Gemmo, Coopservice, CIRFOOD, BPER Banca, Servizi Italia and CCC).

The project is regulated by a concession agreement signed in 2006 between Progeni and ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda. The project consists of the initial redevelopment of the hospital and the management of follow-on services during the operating phase. The construction of the hospital was completed in 2013 and operations will last until 2033. The project is in its operating phase providing non-medical services to the hospital such as maintenance and management of buildings and heating plants, provision of catering services for patients and employees, cleaning and waste disposal services and more.

Niguarda Hospital is one of the largest and most advanced facilities in the healthcare system of Milan, providing essential medical services to the local communities. The hospital covers all specialties for adults and childcare and manages all diseases with complete and holistic treatments with a multidisciplinary approach. In 2020, the hospital was named by Newsweek Magazine as one of the top 50 hospitals in the world.

The transaction is significant due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences that have, in many ways, led to economic overturn and put a substantial pressure on the healthcare systems worldwide. Providing quality healthcare services and associated social infrastructure to communities has been set as a major challenge and ranked as a highest priority by governments in economic recovery plans.

Vauban’s strategy to align the interests of all stakeholders over the long term is a key aspect to providing satisfactory services to users of social infrastructure, grantors, public authorities and investors. As a long-term investor, Vauban Infrastructure Partners aims for projects to have a positive impact for decades ensuring satisfaction of users thanks to a stable management of the contract. Vauban will keep all sellers, except CCC, as co-shareholders as well as all services providers in order to ensure stability.

Christelle Destors-Lepoutre, Investment Director at Vauban Infrastructure Partners and Pierre-Gilles Diat, Investment Manager at Vauban Infrastructure Partners, commented: “This closing is evidence of our expertise in the northern Italian PPP market that we have been developing since 2016, which provides us with an outstanding market knowledge and network to originate the opportunities. Our long-term relationships with industrial partners and advisors and a deep knowledge of the Italian market have been a cornerstone for origination of this transaction.” EY (financial and due diligence advisor), Dentons (legal advisor), Arup (technical due diligence), Marsh (insurance due diligence) and KPMG (model audit) advised on the transaction.