Partners Group has secured over $15bn (€13.1bn) for its latest direct infrastructure strategy, which targets mid-market assets across next-generation energy, utility and infrastructure sectors.
The global private markets firm said the capital raised for its fourth programme, which includes a closed-ended fund alongside bespoke co-investment solutions, is more than 50% larger than the previous vintage.
The strategy was backed by a diverse group of new and existing institutional investors across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, the manager said.
While Partners Group did not disclose individual investor allocations for the final close, some details of institutional commitments emerged during the fundraising process. Last September, New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC) approved a $500m commitment to the strategy, split between a $350m allocation to the core Partners Group Direct Infrastructure IV fund and $150m into an associated co-investment side-car vehicle.
Meeting documents from New Mexico SIC’s consultant, Mercer, at the time highlighted that Partners Group was seeking to raise $7bn specifically for the closed-ended fund element of the programme, targeting a net internal rate of return of 13% to 15%.
Partners Group said the overall programme is already more than 40% committed across a seed portfolio of 11 assets, including Life Cycle Power, a US provider of mobile power generation; Digital Halo, a Singapore-based data centre platform; and Green Flexibility, a developer of large-scale battery storage systems in Germany.
Esther Peiner, global head of infrastructure, Partners Group, said: “The raising of our largest direct infrastructure programme to date is a testament to the appeal of our strategy as well as its top quartile performance. Investors are increasingly seeking the stable, inflation-protected returns and downside protection that infrastructure can offer.
“Our thematic approach and ability to drill down into related sub-sectors has enabled us to build a highly diversified portfolio of primarily mid-market companies that offer significant value creation potential. We look forward to executing across a robust global pipeline.”
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