Franklin Templeton, Inc., through its leading real estate subsidiary Clarion Partners, LLC, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Stoneshield Capital. The transaction will triple Clarion’s European AUM to $13 billion (€11 billion), increase Clarion’s total AUM by 12% to $82 billion (€72 billion), and bring Franklin Templeton’s total Alternatives AUM to over $300 billion (€265 billion).

Stoneshield is a leading European sector-specialist real assets manager with $9 billion (€8 billion) under management. The firm’s investment strategies are thematic and focused on supply-constrained sectors, including living & student housing, digital infrastructure, science & innovation, hospitality, and critical infrastructure.

“The addition of Stoneshield marks an important milestone in Clarion’s buildout of an integrated real assets capability across Europe,” said Clarion Partners CEO David Gilbert. “Stoneshield’s focus on high-yield, special situations investing is a perfect complement to our current offerings. This transaction expands our global investor relationships, broadens our product set, and underscores our long-term commitment to delivering strong performance and innovative investment solutions to our clients.”

With the addition of Stoneshield, Clarion’s European presence is reinforced, augmenting its existing focus on institutional logistics and net leased assets with Stoneshield’s digital, living, and industrial storage capabilities. Stoneshield’s investment products include a series of closed-end diversified opportunistic funds, as well as an investment platform focused specifically on the student housing and living sectors. The firm also has strategic ownership positions in several of Europe’s leading and fastest-growing real asset platforms, including MiCampus, one of Europe’s largest purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) platforms; Solaria, a leading European renewable energy and AI infrastructure developer; Exolum, a leading owner and operator of critical energy infrastructure serving the liquid fuels industry; Neinor Homes, the largest homebuilder in Spain, and Meliá Hotels International, one of the world’s largest hotel groups.

“We are excited to pursue expansion initiatives in Europe, both by further scaling Stoneshield’s opportunistic fund business and by developing new strategies built around their investment themes,” added Clarion Partners President Josh Pristaw. “Stoneshield’s strategic ownership positions in diverse portfolio companies not only have the potential to deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns, but we believe they will generate additional asset-level investment opportunities for existing and future investment products.”

Stoneshield will become Clarion’s dedicated opportunistic investment platform in Europe, maintaining its office locations in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, UK, and Luxembourg. As part of the transaction, co-founders Juan Pepa and Felipe Morenés remain committed to leading Stoneshield over the long term, retaining responsibility for the firm’s investment strategy, growth, and day-to-day operations. Working closely with the broader Clarion Partners and Franklin Templeton organizations, they will also play a central role in expanding the firm’s European real assets platform, developing new investment strategies across their areas of expertise, and creating innovative products for institutional and wealth clients globally. Together, they will continue to pursue strategic growth opportunities through new investment themes, geographic expansion, and selective acquisitions.

Juan Pepa commented, “We are excited to join the Clarion Partners investment management platform, and we look forward to expanding the scale and scope of our business in supply-constrained growth sectors. The transaction gives us the benefits of a global platform while preserving our team, strategy, and culture.”

Felipe Morenés added, “We firmly believe that our partnership with Clarion Partners and Franklin Templeton will accelerate our growth and reinforce our commitment to delivering value for our clients, supported by positive long-term structural needs for real assets investment across Europe.”

“Stoneshield has built an impressive track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns, and joining the Clarion platform will position the team for continued growth and strong performance,” said Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson. “We are excited to welcome Stoneshield to Franklin Templeton. The combination strengthens our real assets capabilities in Europe and creates opportunities to extend the strengths of both Stoneshield and Clarion across geographies. This acquisition represents another important step in our strategy to globalize our real assets capabilities, expand our private markets business, and enhance our offerings to clients around the world.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including the completion of certain regulatory filings.

Stoneshield Capital was advised by Goldman Sachs International (financial advisor).

Source: Franklin Templeton