BNP Paribas asset management has hired Linda Fodil and Thibault Sartori as investment directors for its private debt team as it expands its unitranche strategy.
The team will launch a direct lending strategy with unitranche and junior debt financial instruments, complementing its senior debt offering. It will be primarily aimed at corporates sponsored by private equity in Western Europe.
Fodil will bring over two decades of experience to the role, with seven years on the private debt team at AXA IM, and a decade with the leveraged finance team at HSBC.
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Sartori was a private debt investment director with LFPI, where he began in 2014 focusing on unitranche and mezzanine transactions for small and mid-cap markets. Previously, he was part of the financial sponsors solutions team at UniCredit.
Christophe Carrasco, head of private debt for BNP Paribas Asset Management, said: “We’re glad to have Linda and Thibault joining the team to support and accelerate the development of our unitranche strategy. The team’s credit knowledge is a strong key differentiating factor to select the best counterparties and provide the best risk-return profile. Besides, this strategy shares the same investment universe as BNPP European SME Debt Funds, providing corporates and private equity sponsors such as shareholders a choice between senior and junior debt or unitranche.”
