DIF has announced the completion of the sale of its first fund DIF PPP to Aberdeen Asset Management, an international investment management group.

The sale comprises a portfolio of 16 operational assets located across Europe and the UK. DIF Infrastructure II has also sold its joint holdings in five assets in the portfolio.

DIF PPP was DIF's first fund, launched in 2005 with a final closing in 2006 with committed capital of €121 million and has been fully invested since 2009. The portfolio covers 16 PPP assets in the Education, Healthcare, Leisure, Transport and Government accommodation sector, situated in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland. Several of the assets were jointly held between DIF PPP and DIF Infrastructure II.

DIF Infrastructure II has also sold its joint holding in these assets as part of the transaction. Therefore, 15 of the assets are now majority owned by Aberdeen.

The sale follows the conclusion of an auction process where DIF was advised by PwC (Financial Adviser), Hogan Lovells (Legal), KPMG (Tax), and BDO (Modelling).

Wim Blaasse, Managing Partner of DIF stated:

"The sale of DIF PPP represents a milestone in the history of DIF, as it is the first realisation of a complete fund which DIF has managed from start to finish. Although the time at which most of these assets were invested was pre-GFC, i.e. within a competitive market, we have demonstrated that by investing in high quality assets and then managing them in a proactive manner, we are able to generate extremely attractive returns for our investors."

Paul Nash, Partner of DIF commented:

"In order to achieve best value for our investors we have run a competitive auction process, together with our advisers, in which we have ensured all potentially interested parties have had an opportunity to participate. The fact that Aberdeen ultimately proved successful is a demonstration of their professionalism and ability to gain an in depth understanding of the high quality of the assets."