In a keynote interview with Infrastructure Investor, Thomas Putter – the former head of Allianz’s alternative assets business – warned investors to think carefully about the risk/return profiles of assets that may be misleadingly labelled ‘infrastructure’.
The prospectus announcement for Bilfinger Berger Global Infrastructure shows that it will seek to raise no more than £212m – compared to a previously announced £245m ceiling. The fund will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Treasury is calling on the private sector to voice its ideas about how the new PFI model should look like. In its call for evidence, government says it would like to see pensions invest in projects at construction phase and possibly provide debt for these deals.
The specialist energy-focused firm has teamed up with Spain’s Renovalia Energy to target wind projects across Europe and North America. First Reserve is investing $150m in the joint venture.
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The private equity arm of the French insurer has added just over €50m to the €750m it had managed to raise by late September. AXA aims to raise up to €950m for its third infrastructure fund by year end, but potential LPs are waiting to find out who the unit’s new owner will be.
Transport for London has bought two companies responsible for the maintenance of stretches of its overground system so it can restructure their debt and achieve some £250m in savings. Semperian and RBS were the sellers.
Infrastructure Investor gathered six European investment professionals together to discuss the impact on the asset class of developments in the Eurozone. Fundraising, refinancing and trust in counter-parties were among the subjects considered in this context.
We report on how the industry reacted to yesterday’s announcement of a National Infrastructure Plan and the role of pensions in providing finance. Among the responses were a claim that regulations could stymie the plan as well as a call for forced pension contributions
The government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of Pension Funds, which represents pensions holding some £800bn of assets, and the Pension Protection Fund to pave the way for up to £20bn of pension fund investment in UK infrastructure.
The London-based global funds of funds manager has recruited Heiko Schupp from pan-European infrastructure fund manager EISER as head of European infrastructure investments – a newly created role.
Global Infrastructure Partners, the New York-based global infrastructure fund manager, has so far raised around $2bn for its second fund and is thought to be targeting a first close by the end of this year. The fund has a $6bn final target.
Should investors be so eager to apply thumb-screws to GPs on fund economics?
The Dutch infrastructure fund manager has re-entered the fundraising market for its third vehicle. The firm’s Fund II, which it is currently investing, closed on €571m in September 2010, beating a €500m target.
The Australia-based fund manager is aiming to hold a close before Christmas for its European vehicle in the mid-€600m to €700m range. First State recently hired Phillippe Taillardat to co-head its European infrastructure team, with Danny Latham, the other co-head, relocating to Australia.