The Crédit Agricole Group allocates a further €300 million to private equity for small, medium and intermediate-sized firms

To this end, the regional banks of Crédit Agricole and Crédit Agricole S.A. have just committed €300 million to the Crédit Agricole Régions Développement (CARD) fund.

The aim of this fund is to provide long-term support to small, medium and intermediate-sized clients to help them grow, particularly through a greater number of expansion and buy-out transactions, by taking a minority stake.

CARD may invest between €1 million and €35 million in each minority stake, which may rise to €50 million in a co-investment with one of the Regional Private Equity Companies (Sociétés de Capital Investissement en Région or SCIRs) of Crédit Agricole’s regional banks, a significant amount for a minority investment in an intermediate-sized firm.

The CARD fund will strengthen the Group’s private equity operations

The Crédit Agricole Group is a leading private equity player in France, with a total portfolio of more than €3.5 billion under direct management distributed between its three investor profiles (regional, with the SCIRs, national, for private equity with IDIA Capital Investissement and national, for third-party funds with AMUNDI PEF).

In total, with its subsidiaries Amundi (funds of funds) and CA Assurances, more than €15 billion is invested in firms and the French economy.

Crédit Agricole Régions Développement (CARD) is a diversified investment structure that operates in all sectors except for agri/agro business.

CARD is managed by IDIA Capital Investissement, a Crédit Agricole Group management company.