AXA IM - Real Assets raised a total of around €1 bn at the final close of its second comingled European infrastructure debt fund, the firm has announced.
Named European Infrastructure Senior (Floating) 2 (EIS 2), the fundraise exceeded its target, drawing institutional investors from across Europe and also Asia.
The fund has already made six transactions in the digital infrastructure, renewable energy and rail transportation sectors in France, Spain and Germany. Manager is pursuing defensive and stable income by investing into a diversified portfolio of core infrastructure financings across European markets.
Bertrand Loubières, head of infrastructure finance at AXA IM - Real Assets, said: 'Since launching our infrastructure debt strategy in July 2013 we have seen a consistent increase in appetite from institutional investors for diversified portfolios of infrastructure loans with the capacity to deliver long-term and stable income-driven returns.
'We have continued to concentrate our efforts on all infrastructure and energy sectors, including renewable energy and digital infrastructure, while ESG integration across the infrastructure debt portfolio remains critical, now more than ever, in preserving long term value on behalf of our clients.'
Florence Dard, global head of business development at AXA IM Alts, added: 'Demand for exposure to the asset class has surged in recent months enabling us to close this second Fund above target which, particularly in the current climate, is testament to the proven track record of both our investment team and the European Infrastructure Senior platform as a whole.
'The critical mass that we have achieved with this fundraise enables us to access high-quality, large and complex deals, providing a competitive advantage and better relative value for the benefit of our clients.'
AXA IM - Real Assets infrastructure debt platform now totals €7.3 bln, spread over more than 80 different transactions, and via a combination of private and public instruments. The current portfolio is well balanced across several countries including France (20%), Germany (15%) and the Nordic countries (21%); as well as underlying sectors, with strong exposure to utilities (18%), renewable energy (17%), digital and telecoms (15%).
