Ghislain Lorthiois launches The Port Fund

Private equity newcomer TPF Manager is currently in the process of launching its first venture, The Port Fund. Set up by Ghislain Lorthiois, the fund seeks to raise $300m and is currently in talks with investors.

The vehicle will invest in companies over three years and sell in the next five, bringing the total lifespan to eight years. The legal structure may be a French FCPR or a Luxembourgian vehicle, with terms and conditions in line with the industry, with 2% management fees, 20% carry and 8% hurdle.

Investors
The fund is in talks with its as yet undisclosed cornerstone investor and seeks to raise about $40-50m from around six or seven institutional investors from the UK, Switzerland and other countries.

Investments
The fund is seeking to acquire stakes of small and mid-sized container ports and terminals globally, with interesting opportunities arising in Spain and the UK, according to Lorthiois. The fund would provide up to $50m of additional equity to invest in brown-site ports (operating ports) but would also consider investing in green-sites (ports currently under construction), that would commence operating within the next one to two years.

The investor anticipates that the bursting of the shipping bubble will see ports being sold below their construction cost. The fund will either join as a new investor or acquire shares from stakeholders that have to sell and may be in distressed conditions. The fund may co-invest with other financial partners. Exits will typically be to long-term infrastructure investors such as pension funds or other infrastructure players. The fund will be jointly managed from Marseille, France, and London, UK.

People
Ghislain Lorthiois will jointly manage the team of three partners which is currently being set up. He expects to expand the team to eight people in the next three years. Lorthiois has been deputy general manager at French CMA CGM Terminal link, a container terminal developer and operator. During his tenure, he grew the firm's portfolio from 10 to more than 30 port investments.

Name: The Port Fund

Target: $300m

Launched: June 2009

Focus: Global, expansion, growth, ports

Contact: Ghislain Lorthiois

Tel: +33 6 26 91 30 20.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Real estate
• UK / Ireland
• DACH
• Nordics
• France
• Southern Europe
• Benelux
• CEE
• France