Ridgewood Infrastructure has raised $600m (€552.6m) for its fund targetting water-related other strategic infrastructure assets in the US lower middle market.

The Ridgewood Water & Strategic Infrastructure Fund, which had initially targeted $500m of capital commitments, was oversubscribed as it received commitments from a diverse group of leading North American and European institutional investors.

The manager said investors backing the fund include public and private pension funds; insurance companies; endowments and foundations; and specialised infrastructure-focused investment firms.

As previously reported, State of Michigan Investment Board made a $50m commitment to the fund.

The fund has made three investments to-date, which include a 30-year contracted, 142-mile pipeline to supply the city of San Antonio with 20% of its freshwater; a consolidator of regulated water and wastewater utilities; and a regional regulated natural gas utility.

Ridgewood said it expects to close the fund’s fourth investment prior to quarter-end. In total, these investments will represent approximately 45% of the fund’s capital commitments.

Ross Posner, managing partner of Ridgewood Infrastructure, said: “We appreciate the strong support we have received from leading institutional investors.

“Limited partners recognise that our differentiated, operationally-oriented focus on the lower middle market allows us to access and create compelling investments in essential infrastructure that generate long-term, high quality, non-correlated cash flows.”

Matthew Swanson, Ridgewood Infrastructure founding partner, said: “We are very proud to have hit the hard cap with our initial fundraise for Ridgewood Infrastructure.

“Our success is a testament to Posner’s leadership, our exceptional investment team, and the resources and relationships of the Ridgewood platform. We appreciate the partnership of our LPs and look forward to building on this success in the years to come.”