The $15bn (£11bn) US flotation of Fermi (FRMI), a data centre real estate investment trust, has given the UK market a new REIT launch after three years in which the number of listed property funds has halved. Shares in the Texan company, which was co-founded by former US energy secretary and Texas governor Rick Perry in January, have shot up 37% to $28.78 since debuting on Nasdaq on Wednesday with a secondary listing in London. The company sold 32.5m shares to raise $682m (£507m) towards the construction of a 5,236-acre, AI-focused data centre and energy site near Amarillo known as Project Matador, which is expected to deliver 1.1 gigawatt of power next year and 11GW when at scale. “It [Fermi’s IPO] speaks to the gold rush happening in AI infrastructure right now. It’s a cash geyser,” Matt Kenney, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, told Reuters, which highlighted that it was unusual for a company under a year old with no revenue to achieve a valuation over $10bn in an initial public offer. Fermi chief executive Toby Neugebauer said: “We are very pleased with the strong investor demand for our IPO in both London and New York, and remain laser-focused on execution, which will add stakeholder value and help America win the race to powering the future of AI.”
Partners Group Private Equity (PEY) is to sell 20% of its holding in International Schools Partnership (ISP) to CVC Strategic Opportunities. The transaction involving its sixth largest holding will see the £729m Partners Group investment company receive €9m (£7.9m) in line with the latest €45m valuation of the stake. Partners Group, a Swiss private equity fund manager, will remain the majority shareholder and OMERS, the Canadian pension scheme that bought a minority stake in 2021, will stay invested. Partners Group backed ISP’s management team at the London-based firm’s launch in 2013 and has seen it grow to 110,000 students at 111 schools in 25 countries. CVC Strategic Opportunities is part of CVC Capital Partners (CVC), manager of CVC Income & Growth (CVCG). Partners Group Private Equity saw net asset value fall 0.7% in August as weakness in the dollar against the euro offset gains in the underlying portfolio. The shares stand 24% below net asset value.
Fund management group River Global (RVRG) will complete the £2.46m all-share acquisition of Devon Equity Management, manager of the £441m European Opportunities Trust (EOT), on Monday. In addition to receiving River shares, Devon founders Alexander Darwall, Luca Emo Capodilista and Richard Pavry will receive up to £1.5m cash released from regulatory capital held by the firm that will no longer be required. EOT will sit alongside the £68m River UK Micro (RMMC) and the £139m India Capital Growth (IGC) investment companies in the River stable.
Mobius (MMIT), the £167m emerging markets smaller companies investment trust, has set a 3 November deadline for shareholders to take part in its three-yearly, 100% redemption facility on 1 December. It says none of the company’s directors or its fund managers will sell their shares, which represent 1.2% of the total. Shareholders wishing to retain their shares need take no action. The facility is part of the company’s discount management policy which sees the shares trade at a comparatively narrow 3.7% below net asset value.
Schroder British Opportunities (SBO), a £55m growth capital fund on a 33% share price discount, gained 1.35% in the second quarter with net asset value rising £1.1m to £82.8m and NAV per share adding 1.44p to 111.98p. The increase came largely from the investment company’s quoted holdings which rose 1.59% to £16.4m. The unquoted holdings, which the company plans to focus on in future, slipped 0.24% to £58.5m. Despite recording 10.7% year-on-year growth in earnings, the unquoted holdings shed £200,000 due to a fall in the valuation multiples applied to those profits.
NB Distressed Debt (NBDD) has sold the last commercial mortgage before its portfolio is wound up and liquidated. The €7.83m sale of the defaulted loan was below the investment’s carrying value and knocks $900,000 or 3.8% off the value of its Extended shares and £850,000 or 7.5% off its Global shares. The ordinary shares are unaffected.
