Tikehau Capital has raised more than €1bn for its private equity energy transition strategy, with the New York City Employees’ Retirement System among one of the fund’s investors.

Known as T2, the platform was launched by Paris-listed Tikehau in 2018 with €100m from its own balance sheet, with the objective of raising between €750m and €1bn.

“This close alignment of interest with our investors, whom I thank for the trust they have placed in us, has enabled us to attract a wide range of people wanting to invest in a strategy aimed at decarbonising our economy,” said Mathieu Chabran, co-founder of Tikehau Capital.

“This has made our initiative a real success,” he added. “And this is just the start. We can meet the targets set by the Paris agreements in 2015 provided that we invest today in these companies that are transforming our economic system by moving us towards a decarbonised future.”

In addition to the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the T2 fund has attracted public investors in the form of French state-backed Bpi France and the EU’s European Investment Fund (EIF). Other limited partners are said to include French insurers CNP and Groupama.

Speaking on behalf of the New York City pension investor, Alex Doñé, deputy comptroller and CIO at New York City’s bureau of asset management, said the investor was “attracted to the unique platform” Tikehau had created for the T2 fund.

“This investment is consistent with Comptroller Stringer and the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York’s commitment to invest in sustainable investments and climate change solutions,” Doñé said in a video message put together by Tikehau.

“We are excited for our partnership with Tikehau and the T2 fund and we look forward to many successes.”

The video also included testimonials from Bpi France, the EIF, and Philippe Etienne, French ambassador to the US, and Olivia Grégoire, French minister of state for a social and responsible economy, part of the finance ministry.

The ambassador said he was particularly pleased by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System’s participation, as it was “one of the US pension funds that has the highest standards for sustainability, and [I] hope it will pave the way for other pension funds to invest in a low carbon economy”.

The T2 Energy Transition Fund’s mission has already invested €440m in small and medium-sized enterprises focussed on clean energy generation, low carbon mobility, and energy efficiency. Companies it has acquired stakes in include Greenyellow, a provider of energy efficient refrigeration solutions to retail outlets, and Groupe Rougnon, a specialist in energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings.

Emmanuel Laillier, head of private equity at Tikehau Capital, said the manager’s success “also highlights the need to strengthen companies’ equity bases to move faster with energy transition”.

In other private equity-related news, Hamilton Lane last week announced a $3.9bn (€3.2bn) final close of its fifth secondaries vehicle, the manager’s largest fundraise to-date. Canadian private equity firm Novacap announced raising its largest fund, with $1.9bn committed to its sixth technology, media and telecom sector fund. Vanguard announced a successful close of its private equity fund in partnership with HarbourVest, but did not specify the size.

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