GLOBAL – The investment management firm AMP Capital has reached a first closing for its new infrastructure debt fund, securing $300m (€226m) from 17 institutional investors.
AMP Capital Infrastructure Debt Fund II, which follows on AMP Capital's first Infrastructure Debt Fund closed last year, attracted investors from Australia, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and the UK.
International chief executive and head of global clients Anthony Fasso said AMP Capital was "pleased" to welcome new investors on board, including one of the top insurance companies in South Korea.
The fund will invest in the subordinated debt of infrastructure assets such as water, gas and electricity and transportation projects located in Europe, North America and Australia.
AMP Capital global head of infrastructure debt, Andrew Jones, added that there was great momentum in attracting new global investors to the second infrastructure fund.
"We've completed the fund's first investment, securing a £50m subordinated loan to Heathrow Airport," he said.
"The team is pursuing a strong pipeline of attractive investment opportunities and expects to announce further investments shortly."
AMP Capital expects the portfolio to consist of investments in the subordinated debt of 10-15 companies headquartered in OECD countries.
In December this year, it already said it expected existing investors including insurer China Life, Australian superannuation funds and European pension schemes to allocate to a planned infrastructure debt fund with a target size of $1bn.
At the time, Jones said he expected interest from pension funds, insurers and other institutional investors "looking for defensive, yield-focused things to invest in".
AMP Capital's first infrastructure debt fund closed to new investment in June 2012 after raising $503m from 30 global institutional investors.
IPE and Stirling Capital Partners are co-hosting a conference, Infrastructure for Pension Funds and Other Capital Owners, to take place on 2 October in London. For more information, please click here.
