The London-based fund manager, which targets operational UK Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects, has reached a significant fundraising milestone with the support of five investors. It has already allocated £89.5m to a portfolio of 19 PFI assets.
The firm has raised £144m through its London-listed debt fund, more than doubling the size of the vehicle after seeking to raise in excess of £80m. One-third of the new money, which will be deployed over the next six months, came from new investors.
The €18bn Danish pension fund has established Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a new single-LP fund to which it is committing €800m to be invested in the next four years. The fund will be managed by ex-employees of Dong Energy. A planned second fund will target external investors.
Allianz Global Investors has set up a renewables team and is gearing up to launch a renewables fund in the first quarter of 2013. The fund will target a diversified portfolio of renewable assets across Europe and, potentially, other OECD countries.
Private equity stalwart Guy Hands is in early talks with the China Development Bank on launching a global renewables-focused fund. Terra Firma will help sell the fund to European and US investors while the Chinese bank will focus on Chinese LPs.
The Florida State Board of Administration allocated $150m to Global Infrastructure Partners’ second infrastructure fund, which recently closed on a record-breaking $8.25bn. The debut infrastructure investment is part of a wider commitment to the alternatives space.
The modest upturn in infrastructure fundraising seen since the nadir of 2009 is continuing, with the total amount raised globally in 2012 likely to exceed the 2011 total. Renewable energy and debt funds are having a growing impact.
The Swedish investor has acquired Norwegian offshore oil and gas broadband operator Tampnet from HitecVision. Tampnet operates the world’s largest offshore high capacity communication network.
The Danish pension fund, which is aiming to invest 10 percent of its capital in infrastructure-like assets, has acquired 50 percent of three wind farm assets in Texas and Pennsylvania from Germany’s E.ON.
The long-term future of infrastructure fundraising looks healthy. The short term won’t be changed by one fund.
The Dutch fund manager has recruited Macquarie Capital’s head of Canadian power, utilities and renewables – Paul Huebener – to lead its newly opened Toronto office. DIF, which is raising a third, €600m infrastructure fund, plans to use the new office to target North American P3s.
Global Infrastructure Partners’ second fund – the largest infrastructure fund ever raised – has reached its revised hard cap. The New York-based fund manager now has more than $15bn in assets under management.
The German asset manager has reached a first close on €50m for its debut infrastructure fund - a renewable vehicle primarily targeting wind farms across Europe. Christoph Schumacher, who used to be head of indirect investments at Generali, is heading the effort.
The £540m London Borough of Waltham Forest Pension Fund has made allocations of around £27m each to fund managers Global Infrastructure Partners and Capital Dynamics. In so doing, it has reached its 10% infrastructure target.
The Pensions Infrastructure Platform, a £2bn initiative to pool the resources of UK pensions for investment in infrastructure, has signed up seven members with an eighth expected imminently. The platform is thus on the cusp of achieving its aim of having eight to ten founding members.