Caisse de dépôt invests in Ardian co-investment vehicle – update

Updated to show CDPQ is making a commitment to an Ardian Fund VII co-investment vehicle, not through a stake sale.

Canadian pension giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has invested in an Ardian secondaries fund co-investment vehicle, according to a UK regulatory filing.

CDPQ invested in the vehicle through CDP Investissements, an entity it owns. Ardian’s latest dedicated secondaries vehicle, Ardian Secondary Fund VII, was launched this year and is targeting $9 billion, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division.

The co-investment vehicle’s name, ASF VII B CDPQ Co-Invest, seems to indicate it will invest alongside Fund VII but its size and further details could not be determined at press time.

Aztec Group transferred its entire interest in the vehicle to Ardian, according to the filing. Aztec manages the administration of private equity, real assets and debt and provides onshore and offshore services to general partners in western Europe, according to its website.

CDPQ, which manages funds for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans, has committed to five of Ardian’s previous secondaries funds, as well as two of San Francisco-based secondaries firm Saints Capital‘s funds, according to PEI data. The fund manager had C$240.2 billion ($181 billion; €162 billion) in assets under management as of 30 June, according to its website.

A spokeswoman for Aztec declined to comment. Ardian and CDPQ weren’t immediately available to comment.