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Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-Investissement (NACO)
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-Investissement (NACO) serves as the dedicated co-investment vehicle for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council, France's largest region...
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-Investissement (NACO)
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Co-Investissement (NACO) serves as the dedicated co-investment vehicle for the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council, France's largest region by area. The fund channels regional public funds into private companies headquartered or operationally anchored in the region, functioning as a patient capital provider alongside private equity sponsors and corporate acquirers. Its mandate ties directly to the council's Schéma Régional de Développement Économique, which prioritizes industrial retention, SME scaling, and ecological transition across the region's diverse economic base. NACO participates exclusively through co-investment structures, committing alongside lead private equity funds in growth equity, buyout, and turnaround transactions across manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, digital services, and green energy. The fund does not make primary commitments or operate as a direct deal lead. Its investment criteria require the target company to maintain significant operations and employment in one of the region's twelve departments, stretching from the Bordeaux metropolitan hub to the rural economies of Creuse and Corrèze. The fund reports to the regional council's economic development commission, with investment decisions made by an internal team in consultation with external private-sector advisors. NACO's governance embeds a dual-bottom-line mandate: each investment must demonstrate both financial viability and measurable regional impact—typically job creation or retention, industrial site modernization, or supply-chain localization within Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The fund typically deploys alongside French mid-market sponsors with established regional practices. NACO's structural differentiator is its regional-patience model: as a public co-investor unconstrained by fixed fund life, it can hold positions longer than a standard 5-to-7-year private equity cycle when industrial logic supports extended ownership. This architecture mirrors German Länder-level development funds and Italian regional co-investment structures, positioning NACO as a local anchor investor able to absorb complexity that purely return-driven private capital might decline.
General information
Firm type
Sovereign Wealth Fund
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
France
City
Bordeaux
Corporate office
Bordeaux, France
Frequently asked questions
What is NACO's investment mandate?
NACO co-invests alongside private equity funds in companies headquartered or anchored in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its mandate covers growth equity, buyouts, and turnaround situations, with a dual requirement that each investment be financially viable and generate measurable regional economic impact, such as job creation or industrial site modernization.
Does NACO make direct investments or only co-investments?
NACO operates exclusively through co-investment structures, committing capital alongside a lead private equity sponsor in each transaction. It does not lead deals or make primary fund commitments. The co-investment model allows NACO to rely on the lead sponsor's due diligence and operational governance while securing exposure to regional companies.
How is NACO governed and who makes investment decisions?
NACO reports to the economic development commission of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council. Investment decisions are made by its internal team in consultation with external private-sector advisors, blending public-accountability governance with private-equity discipline.
What differentiates NACO from a standard private equity fund?
NACO is a public-sector co-investor without a fixed fund life, enabling it to hold portfolio positions beyond the typical 5-to-7-year private equity cycle when industrial logic supports extended ownership. Its dual-bottom-line mandate requires both financial return and regional economic impact, a posture that allows it to accept complexity pure financial sponsors might decline.
Which industries or sectors does NACO target?
NACO invests across the region's diversified economy, with transactions in manufacturing, agri-food, aerospace, digital services, and energy transition. The fund's sector scope is broad, driven by the economic development priorities of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council rather than a narrow thematic mandate.
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