Wendel, one of Europe's largest listed investment companies, reported a first-quarter net asset value (NAV) of 158.4 euros per share — down 3.6% from end-2025. The group attributed the move to lower market multiples applied to its private-asset management arm, notably IK Partners and Monroe Capital. Alongside equity stakes in industrial groups like Bureau Veritas and Scalian, Wendel has built a third-party asset-management platform now close to 50 billion euros under management.
CEO Laurent Mignon called the investment and management businesses "two solid and complementary engines of value creation", but the Q1 release also signalled genuine pressure. In private debt, Monroe Capital saw withdrawal requests from one of its vehicles — "limited" in size and fully honoured thanks to new subscriptions, says Wendel. Still, this line alone trimmed NAV by 8.5 euros per share over the quarter.
The signal travels beyond Wendel. In the United States, Apollo, Ares, Blackstone, BlackRock and Blue Owl have all had to manage or cap redemptions in private-credit funds. Blue Owl capped withdrawals at 5% of shares in one vehicle, returning a little over 1 billion dollars out of 5.4 billion requested. Despite the valuation hit, Wendel's commercial momentum is intact: 349 million euros of fees in 2025, 3.8 billion dollars raised by Monroe, and Q1 fees up 129% year-on-year to 106.2 million euros. Source: Les Echos, 23 April 2026, Samir Touzani.