KBRA Upgrades the Rating Assigned to a Senior Secured Subscription Facility to DIF Infrastructure VI Coöperatief U.A.
5 Aug 2026 | London
KBRA UK (KBRA) upgrades the rating assigned to a senior secured subscription facility (the “Facility”) to the partnerships comprising DIF Infrastructure VI Coöperatief U.A. and DIF Infra 6 Finance B.V. (together “DIF VI” or the “Fund”) to A+ from A. The Outlook is Stable. The rating was requested by DIF Management B.V. (“CVC DIF” or the “Manager”) as the manager of the Fund.
The Facility is provided by a syndicate of lenders (the "Lenders"). The Facility was amended in May 2026. The amendment reduced the Facility from its original size of €500.0 million to €328.0 million. The Facility is due to mature in December 2026, subject to further extensions at Lenders’ discretion. The purpose of the Facility is for bridging financing acquisition costs, general corporate and working capital purposes and the payment of fees and expenses relating to investments and the Facility.
The rating upgrade reflects the strong credit quality and significant diversification of the limited partner (LP) base, the continued deployment of the Fund through capital calls, and the Manager's track record and experience. The majority of LPs have been evaluated to be equivalent to investment grade credit quality, consistent with the previous surveillance. Diversification of LP commitments remains unchanged compared to the previous surveillance, with the adjusted Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of 41.9. As of March 2026, approximately 82.2% of LP commitments had been called, compared with 74.9% at the previous surveillance. KBRA views the combination of these factors as supporting the continued willingness and ability of investors to meet future capital calls for repayment. The rating upgrade also reflects KBRA's assessment of CVC DIF. As part of its analysis, KBRA considered CVC DIF's integration into the wider group platform following CVC Capital Partners’ ("CVC") acquisition of CVC DIF in 2024, with its governance, risk management and operational functions aligned with CVC's broader institutional framework.
DIF VI is a 2019 vintage fund managed by CVC DIF and represents the sixth vintage of its flagship infrastructure strategy that focuses on core and build-to-core infrastructure investments primarily across Europe and North America.
CVC DIF is an infrastructure investment manager established in 2005 focusing on infrastructure equity investments across core, core-plus, and value-add strategies, with investments in the energy transition, utilities, digital infrastructure, transport, and social infrastructure sectors. As of March 2026, CVC DIF has approximately €23.0 billion of assets under management and operates from global offices across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific regions. As of March 2026, CVC DIF employs 267 professionals, with more than 20 years of experience investing in infrastructure assets.
Key Credit Considerations
Investment fund ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative factors. The five key quantitative determinants are as follows:
- In the Asset Quality determinant, KBRA generally measures the quality of the collateral based on a weighted average scoring. For Subscription Facilities (“Sublines”), this includes an assessment using a matrix-based approach that reflects the creditworthiness of the Fund’s LP base.
- The Asset Coverage determinant measures the relative sufficiency of the pledged collateral value to repay the principal amount of the rated debt. For Sublines, this includes an evaluation of the covenants included in the Facility linked to uncalled committed capital (UCC) and net asset value of the Fund, and/or advance rates applied to the UCC.
- The Liquidity determinant reflects KBRA’s assessment of the relative price discount that the underlying collateral may incur if the assets are subject to conversion into cash in order to meet scheduled or accelerated debt service requirements. Under the Liquidity determinant, KBRA considers three factors (type, complexity and price discovery / transparency) and scores these factors individually on a scale of zero to two, with two being the most liquid.
- In the Duration determinant, KBRA examines the tenor profile of the pledged collateral relative to the rated debt, and the associated vulnerability to changes in price of collateral over time.
- When appropriate, KBRA will perform a cash flow analysis in order to test the transaction’s ability to meet its rated interest and principal payment obligations under various economic, financial, and market scenarios. This is not applicable to Subscription Facilities, as LP capital calls typically occur on a non-periodic basis and the primary source of repayment for Sublines is the Fund’s UCC so once a capital call is issued, the LP is typically required to meet the capital call within a short window. Therefore, repayment capacity is analysed in the context of the prior rating determinants.
The above quantitative determinants produce a quantitative rating outcome. In addition to the above quantitative determinants, KBRA’s analysis considers a variety of qualitative factors, which can lead to upward or downward adjustments in the final rating outcome and these are assessed in the context of: (i) Manager Review; (ii) Legal Review, and (iii) Other Factors including alignment of interests, incentives to fund future capital calls and diversification within the LP base.
Rating Sensitivities
It should be noted that many aspects, including but not limited to, the rating sensitivities listed below, macroeconomic factors, market conditions, competitive landscape, and a fund manager’s investment acumen can impact the performance of the fund and influence KBRA’s rating decisions. If performance of the transaction differs meaningfully from the expected levels, KBRA may consider making a rating change.
Decline in LP Credit Quality
A decline in the credit quality of the Fund’s LPs as a result of: (i) deterioration in the credit quality of underlying LPs; (ii) transfer of interests to LPs of lower credit quality characteristics; (iii) inclusion of LPs with weak credit quality characteristics; and (iv) weaker than expected LP diversification, may result in negative rating changes.
Improvement in LP Credit Quality
An overall higher credit quality of the Fund’s LPs as a result of: (i) improvement in the credit quality of underlying LPs; (ii) transfer of interests to LPs with better credit characteristics; (iii) inclusion of LPs with strong credit quality characteristics; and (iv) stronger than expected LP diversification, may result in positive rating changes.
Underperformance of Fund Assets or Investments
A decrease in the Fund’s fair market value due to underperformance of the Fund’s underlying assets or investments may jeopardise debt repayment as the deterioration of the Fund may, for example, elicit hesitation of the Fund’s LPs to fund their respective capital calls regardless of their contractual obligations to do so and the underlying LPs’ security and protections to the Lender.
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