Caisse de d茅p么t et placement du Qu茅bec (CDPQ), Partners Group and CIC Capital Corporation (CIC Capital) are buying a French residential property manager.

The partnership said it was investing in Paris-based Foncia, a provider of residential property-management services, from Bridgepoint and Eurazeo.

Qing Zhang, executive vice-president at CIC Capital, said: 鈥淲ith the top spot in the French property services market and the opportunity to expand across the region, Foncia is the sort of growth-focused acquisition opportunity CIC Capital looks for.

鈥淛oint investment with private-market investment managers and other institutional investors is an important strategy CIC Capital pursues.鈥

Zhang said CIC was likely to explore similar opportunities with Partners Group, which will hold a majority stake in Foncia.

Kim Nguyen, managing director of European private equity at Partners Group, said Foncia was a 鈥渦nique鈥 asset in the property management sector.

鈥淲e have tracked its progress closely and are attracted by the resilient and cash-generative nature of the business,鈥 Nguyen said.

鈥淕oing forward, we see a number of clearly defined growth avenues for the company, both in France and within the wider European market.鈥

Foncia has 500 branches and manages a portfolio of more than 1.8m properties across France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

The company, which employs 8,000 staff, generated 鈧700m in revenues last year.