AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets has raised €730 mln at the initial closing of its first infrastructure debt fund.
European Infra Senior 1, its first co-mingled pan-European infrastructure debt fund, raised the capital from five institutions and plans to invest into a diversified portfolio of core infrastructure project financing across pan-European markets.
'The successful launch of European Infra Senior 1 with an initial €730 mln of capital raised underlines the increasing appetite amongst institutional investors for access to a diversified portfolio of tier-one quality infrastructure loans, which are able to deliver longer-term stable income-driven returns in a low interest rate environment, whilst also being in line with our 360° approach to investing,' commented Isabelle Scemama, head of funds group at AXA IM - Real Assets.
'The size of both this newly launched fund and our wider debt platform enables us to access high quality, large and complex deals, providing a competitive advantage and better relative value for the benefit of our clients,' she added.
The fund will target predominantly senior secured debt investments in the infrastructure (transportation, telecom, social) and energy (including renewables) sectors with a preference for brownfield assets.
'Our European Infra Senior 1 fund targets institutional clients seeking regular income in a low interest rate environment, and access our co-invest platform,' said Florence Dard, head of client group France at AXA IM. 'Opening our infrastructure debt platform to third party clients enabled us to reinforce our relationship with major institutional investors, whether insurance companies or pension institutions.'
AXA IM said it had capped the size of the fund to €1.5 bn. The fund adds to the firm's established debt platform, which currently has €12.7 bn of assets under management.
