CIM set for $600m first close on Fund III – exclusive

Los Angeles-based CIM Group is set to reach a first close of around $600 million for its third infrastructure fund, Infrastructure Investor understands.

CIM Infrastructure Fund III, which was launched last summer, is believed to be targeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for the vehicle, which will invest in mid-market North American infrastructure, in sectors including renewables, digital infrastructure, transportation, social infrastructure, and waste and water management. It is believed to be targeting a gross IRR of 13-15 percent.

A significant chunk of the capital raised to date came from the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, which confirmed a $250 million commitment to the fund in March. According to documents from the LP, CIM will seek to make between 15 and 20 investments through the fund, with ticket sizes ranging from $25 million to $150 million, and investing in both brownfield and greenfield assets.

CIM declined to comment on the fundraising.

The capital raised to date for Fund III has almost reached the final close figure for its predecessor, which closed on $818 million in April 2018. That fund was generating a net IRR of 13.2 percent towards the end of last year, according to pension documents. The first vehicle was launched in 2007 with only the California Public Employees’ Retirement System as a $200 million investor. The strategy is led by CIM principal Jennifer Gandin, who has been with the firm since 2003.

In June 2021, CIM made an investment in an affiliate of MAS CanAm, the holding company of MAS Energy’s renewable natural gas activities. Three of those assets, based in Texas and Louisiana, were sold this month to oil and gas titan Kinder Morgan for $355 million.

Last month, CIM committed to invest up to $355 million in growth capital in data centre operator Novva Data Centers, while it also launched a joint venture in February with Stonepeak-owned Cologix to invest in a data centre in Toronto.