$2bn goal for Macquarie Infra Partners III

Macquarie Group is raising capital for a $2 billion fund said to have a mandate to invest in infrastructure in North America.

Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III (MIP III) is a successor to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II (MIP II) and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners I (MIP I), which are also both focused on North America and managed from New York.

Inchoate MIP III was created last year and has not yet begun fundraising, according to a Macquarie regulatory filing. A Macquarie spokeswoman in New York, declined to comment.

Like MIP II and MIP I, the newly minted vehicle is run under the aegis of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA).

Macquarie, a financial services concern headquartered in Sydney, Australia, is rolling out MIP III amid a heady fundraising climate for the infrastructure asset class.

In 2012, Global Infrastructure Partners II became the largest ever infrastructure fund, closing with $8.25 billion. Last October, Meridiam Infrastructure North America Fund II also closed, while Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund edged closer to its $1 billion goal.

According to placement agent Probitas Partners, global fundraising for infrastructure topped $23.5 billion last year, besting the $20.8 billion raised in 2011.

For MIRA, the $2 billion equity target set for MIP III marked a sobering contrast to its last fundraise.

Rolled out during the global financial crisis, predecessor MIP II failed to meet its $6 billion goal. Macquarie readjusted its capital raising target to $3 billion, before closing the fund on $1.6 billion in 2010.

MIP I closed in 2007 with $4 billion.