Franklin Templeton acuerda con Juan Pepa y Felipe Morenés la compra de Stoneshield

Clarion Partners, a financial firm managed by Franklin Templeton, has reached an agreement with Juan Pepa and Felipe Morenés to acquire a majority stake in Stoneshield, a Spanish asset manager with over €8 billion in assets under management. The deal, expected to be announced imminently after months of exclusive negotiations, is part of the ongoing consolidation phase in the alternative asset management sector.

Founded in 2018 by Pepa and Morenés, who previously worked at Lone Star, Stoneshield has evolved from a specialized real estate manager into a European giant in the investment industry, diversifying into hotel, infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors. In recent years, the company has multiplied its activities, becoming the second-largest shareholder of companies like Neinor Homes (19%), Meliá (10%), Solaria (10%) and Exolum (20%).

Other significant investments by Stoneshield include MiCampus, a residential student housing group, and XDC Properties, a data center promoter in which the company holds control. Although Juan Pepa and Felipe Morenés will retain their stake in Stoneshield and its management, Clarion Partners, which manages over €73 billion in assets, will gain a majority position in the company.

Clarion Partners, managed by Franklin Templeton, operates in Europe and has a 82% stake in the firm, which is part of Franklin Templeton, one of the largest fund managers with $1.83 trillion in assets under management. Clarion Partners entered the Spanish market in 2019, focusing on logistics and industrial assets, and has since expanded into digital infrastructure (XDC and Solaria), residential (MiCampus, The Flexy Living, Domo and Neinor), critical infrastructure (Exolum, Gaviota e IOF), hotel (Meliá) and innovation (Sid).

The transaction comes at a time when the alternative asset management sector is seeing numerous corporate deals as different actors seek to enter or diversify, and other firms strive to gain financial strength to attract institutional investors. In Spain, for example, Mercer, a subsidiary of the US insurance group Marsh, recently agreed to acquire AltamarCAM Partners, while AMG acquired a 25% stake in Q-Energy last year, and Santander has invested in Fremman Capital and integrated Tresmares. Andbank also invested 25% of Diana Capital last year, among other deals.