CapMan’s real assets debt platform CAERUS Debt Investments is finalizing the set-up of its infrastructure strategy and building up a team ahead of next year’s inaugural fundraising, its CIO for infrastructure debt René Kassis told Infralogic.

Finnish asset manager CapMan acquired a 51% of CAERUS last year and then in March this year appointed industry veteran Kassis, who previously held senior roles at Aquila Capital and La Banque Postale Asset Management, as co-managing partner and CIO of infrastructure debt.

The manager is currently in the “sounding phase” for its first dedicated infrastructure debt fundraising, with the launch of its maiden fund slated for next year, said Kassis. Discussions are currently ongoing with investors, so the fund’s target size is still being defined.

Despite next year’s launch, some deals may be agreed even earlier on a club deal basis with seed investors, said Kassis.

He said: “We are moving ahead with our plans, building our infrastructure debt platform and refining our strategy. We’ve also started talking to investors as potential LPs, and in parallel working on a pipeline of deals.”

The fund is going to be focused on high-yield debt, encompassing junior, senior and holdco debt, depending on the underlying assets, added Kassis.

Transactions targeted by this new fund will be in the mid-market space with a pan-European horizon. “We will aim to provide financing for growth infrastructure businesses – essentially, established businesses which need to scale up,” Kassis said.

The new strategy of CAERUS, which until now has been focused on real estate financing, will target two main infrastructure segments, said Kassis.

One will be energy transition – encompassing renewables, BESS, smart grids, energy efficiency, EV charging infrastructure and other segments including sustainable fuel, circular economy, district heating, waste-to-energy and water.

The other type of investments will be those with a “sovereign angle”, from data centres to defence-related segments such as towers, barracks, and also energy security, he said.

An infrastructure debt team is meanwhile also being built, with further dedicated hires planned alongside CEARUS’s existing team of debt specialists.

Last week, CapMan announced the appointment of Lucas Keller as investment director within CAERUS, working alongside Kassis. Keller’s previous experience includes working at Aquila Capital, most recently as head of investment management for private debt. Before that he worked at German renewable platform ib vogt, and with the Bouygues Group before that.

It follows the appointment of another industry expert, Laurence Monnier, who has more than 30 years of experience in infrastructure financing with roles including at Aviva Investors and LBP AM.

She joined as senior advisor to the Caerus Debt Investments’ board in April this year, to provide advice on issues of platform growth, investment strategy, risk management, and sustainability, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Several other appointments to expand Kassis’ dedicated infrastructure team are expected next year and will include roles focused on origination and execution, as the manager progresses with its fundraising.

In addition to debt, CapMan also focuses on infrastructure equity, with the third vintage of its CapMan Infra’s Nordic infrastructure fund series also in fundraising and a first close completed during summer.