The clean energy financier has also committed A$20m to a solar farm backed by the vehicle, its first direct equity investment in a solar project.
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The US firm has injected $500m of growth capital into Cologix at a time when 'more and more infrastructure funds are taking data centres seriously', according to one of its co-founders.
The vehicle drew commitments from New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, Texas County and District Retirement System and the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions & Investment.
The Dutch firm is roughly half way to its hard-cap for the vehicle, which will target the likes of unregulated utilities, telecoms and storage.
Jim Barry and Mark Florian, respective infra heads at the two US firms, tell Infrastructure Investor about the acquisition’s rationale and how it will help BlackRock move up the risk curve.
The fund manager’s investment alongside Eurazeo will see Fonroche’s solar business siphoned off from the company’s other renewable energy business streams.
The US public pension has backed a North America-focused fund.
Backed by two Japanese trading companies, the 1.76GW project will seek financing after contracting its output to domestic utility PLN.
Japan’s GPIF intends to invest more in infrastructure in 2017 but is keen to underline its investment decisions remain insulated from government influence.
The infrastructure plan, first proposed before the US election, calls for tax credits of up to 82% of equity investments to lure in private investors.
A Democratic congressman questioned the role P3s will play in the Trump administration during the infra committee’s first meeting.
TransCanada, developer of the North American pipeline, already has a high amount of leverage and faces political roadblocks to build the project, according to Moody’s.
The firm’s global head of private equity said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that a vehicle able to deploy billions of dollars at once is needed “to be relevant” in today’s market.
M&G Investments’ infrastructure arm is eyeing projects in France, UK and Ireland with Amarenco as a key part of its £1bn greenfield fund.
The long-term goal for the private markets asset class is 8 percent of the total portfolio.