Daniel Wong joins Stonepeak as head of Europe – exclusive

Macquarie Capital’s former global co-head, Daniel Wong, is joining Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners as head of Europe, as the firm ramps up activity in the region, sources have told Infrastructure Investor.

Wong announced his departure from Macquarie Capital last week after 22 years with the group, where he had served as global head of infrastructure and energy since 2017 and as global co-head since 2019. He has also been chairman of the Green Investment Group since Macquarie’s acquisition of the unit in the summer of 2017.

That expertise is set to be transferred to Stonepeak, where a large part of his focus for the US-headquartered firm will be on the energy transition and renewables. He will also play a key role as Stonepeak joins the likes of KKR and EQT in launching a core strategy next year, a source said.

Wong will oversee the expansion of the European team, which will operate from London, where Stonepeak is in the process of opening an office. It hired Daniel Zinic from placement agent FIRSTavenue in April 2020 as managing director to lead investor relation efforts in the region. He was joined last month by Carolyn Pearce, formerly a managing director, investor relations at Infracapital.

Stonepeak declined to comment on the hiring.

Alongside EQT Infrastructure V, Stonepeak last month acquired Delta Fiber, a Dutch high-speed broadband, TV and fixed and mobile telephony provider, from EQT Infrastructure III. The pair this year joined forces for a bid for KPN, although the Dutch telecoms giant rejected the bid on the basis that it “did not provide tangible and material added value” to KPN’s strategy and “did not include an offer price”.

Stonepeak has also owned bandwidth infrastructure firm euNetworks since January 2018 and committed further capital to the company in June last year alongside an investment from the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

Fundraising success

Wong’s European and energy transition focus could open up further opportunities for the firm’s Global Renewables Fund, which more than doubled its target to close on $2.75 billion in July. About $800 million is believed to have been invested at close in projects in the US and Asia, although it is understood the firm is looking to deploy across developed markets globally. Wong will reunite with Hajir Naghdy, who had led the fund’s strategy since joining in November 2019. Prior to that, he was head of Macquarie Capital in Asia and the Middle East, establishing its renewable energy business in these regions.

Infrastructure Investor also understands Stonepeak is planning a final close of its Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund IV on a revised hard-cap of $14 billion, having raised about $11.5 billion to date. This follows a $1.4 billion anchor close last month for its inaugural Asia fund. It is also raising about $3 billion for a continuation fund for its 2017 investment in Cologix.