Fundraising

DIF buys UK wind farm from 3i Infra

The Dutch firm, which made the purchase through its €1.15bn fourth fund, recently launched a new vehicle targeting core infrastructure.

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A fund managed by 3i Infrastructure has sold a 26MW wind farm in the UK to Dutch fund manager DIF.

The latter purchased the Wadlow Wind Farm in Cambridgeshire, England through DIF Infrastructure IV, which closed last September on €1.15 billion. The Wadlow project was developed by RES and entered operation in 2012. 

3i Infrastructure managed the asset through its BEIF II vehicle, a £280 million ($363.5 million; €326 million) capital growth fund that focuses on primary and secondary PPPs and other infrastructure assets. 3i Infrastructure said the fund should be fully divested by the end of this year.

JLL Energy and Infrastructure advised 3i Infrastructure on this deal.

3i Infrastructure, based in London, manages over £2.4 billion of economic infrastructure and greenfield assets throughout Europe. In July, Daniel von der Schulenburg, a former principal at US firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners, joined 3i Infrastructure as a director in London.

DIF said its fourth infrastructure vehicle would follow a strategy similar to that of DIF III, which reached its final close in March 2013 on its €800 million hard-cap. The fund will target gross IRRs of 14 to 15 percent. 

Earlier this month, it emerged that DIF has launched a new core infrastructure fund targeting mid-market deals. A source with knowledge of the matter told Infrastructure Investor that the firm was aiming to raise a few hundred million euros for the vehicle