Cordiant Capital Inc.

Cordiant Capital was founded as a fund manager in Montreal in 1999.[6] With an initial investing focus on emerging market debt,[5] Cordiant's first fund closed in 2001 with US$360 million raised from its sole two investors at the time: Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.[7] Cordiant was an early signatory to the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Investment.

In 2005, the Government of Canada created its $211 million Canadian Investment Fund for Africa,[4] with Actis and Cordiant as co-managers.[7] ln December 2009,[8] Cordiant was selected to manage the €500 million Infrastructure Crisis Facility-Debt Pool,[9] part of a $4 billion program launched by the World Bank. Investors in the fund included various European governments and state development agencies.[10] Among them was the Government of Germany, through the development bank KfW.[9]

By 2011, Cordiant had invested around US$2 billion of the $2.2 billion it managed,[3] and had partnered with institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on diverse project types.[4] In April 2013, Cordiant raised $250 million for its fourth emerging market debt fund.[7][11]

In 2015 and 2016, Cordiant was purchased from majority shareholder Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan by a new consortium of partners,[12] including Benn Mikula and Jean-François Sauvé, who became co-CEOs[5] and managing partners.[12][5] James Keirnan was named Cordiant's new chair.[5]

Upon the change in ownership, Cordiant focused on four sectors: digital infrastructure, agriculture, renewable energy and transport.[5] The company stated it would focus increasingly on middle-market companies,[12] both in emerging and developed markets.[13] Cordiant Capital was one of three Canadian signatories of the Operating Principles for Impact Management investing standard.[14] By January 2020, Cordiant had brought in Steven Marshall, former president of American Tower, as its chairman of telecommunications, overseeing a new $350 million Cordiant fund (Cordiant IX) focused on telecoms infrastructure.[2]

Cordiant listed a new fund, Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Ltd., on the London Stock Exchange in February 2021. It was given a  £370 million funding cap with plans to invest in telecom infrastructure: data centers, primarily mobile-phone towers and fiber-optic networks.[5][15] The traded fund's investors were described by The Globe & Mail as "pension plans, alternative asset managers and wealthy families from Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the U.S. and the U.K."[5] The fund's first deal was with the Czech Republic-based digital infrastructure company CRA.[12]

In early 2022, Cordiant Capital had approximately $3 billion in committed capital in its combined funds.[5]