SWEN Capital Partners, a €7.7 billion private investment firm focused on responsible investment in unlisted assets in Europe, has closed its Blue Ocean fund with €170 million in capital commitments, exceeding its stated target of €120 million.
The fund was originally launched in September 2021 in scientific partnership with Ifremer to finance 20 to 25 innovative (primarily start up) companies across sustainable aquaculture, ocean data, plant and cell-based seafood, alternatives to single-use plastic, renewable marine energies and decarbonization of maritime transport.
Institutional investors from Europe and the US, ranging from pension funds to insurance companies, banks, sovereign funds and family offices, account for more than 85% of the fund’s commitments. The most recent funding round saw investments from Abeille Assurances and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
Other investors include the insurance firms MACIF and MAIF, the banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, the French Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance), Builders Vision, Ferd, the Planet Ocean Fund and Ifremer (France’s leading ocean research institute).
