Digital Colony Management’s inaugural fund, which set out to raise $3bn (€2.6bn), has exceeded its target by 35%.
Digital Colony Partners – the first-ever fund dedicated to digital infrastructure – received $4.05bn in commitments from a broad mix of US and international investors including sovereign wealth funds institutional fund managers and pension funds, the manager said.
Other investors to commit to the fund include endowments, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals, many of whom have previously invested with Digital Bridge or Colony Capital in other vehicles.
The fund has so far invested in Andean Tower Partners, Digita in Finland, a UK digital infrastructure platform and Toronto-based Peer 1.
The fund has also signed an agreement in partnership with EQT Infrastructure to acquire Zayo Group, a provider of bandwidth infrastructure in the US, Canada and Europe.
Digital Colony was launched in 2018 by Digital Bridge and Colony Capital.
Marc Ganzi, CEO and co-founder of Digital Bridge, said: “Digital communications are evolving at an unprecedented rate; as a result, demand is surging for network infrastructure across towers, small cells, fibre and data centres.”
“No one has ever raised a fund solely dedicated to this sector, but it is clear that new capital will be needed on a global basis to support network buildout and prepare for the implementation of 5G, IoT, AI and other forms of next-generation networks.”
Thomas J Barrack Jr, executive chairman and CEO of Colony Capital, said: “Digital infrastructure represents the most compelling investment opportunity we see today, and this demonstrates our long-term commitment to the sector.
“The strong support from our investors for Digital Colony Partners underscores the attractiveness and uniqueness of our investment strategy.”
