DIF closes core fund on €450m hard-cap

Dutch fund manager DIF has closed its debut core fund on its €450 million hard-cap, after hitting its €350 million target in April.

DIF Core Infrastructure I was launched last September to target mid-sized assets with contracted cashflows in “underserved” parts of the telecoms, rail, energy and utility sectors.

It is targeting gross returns of 15 percent – higher than DIF’s flagship Fund V, currently in market – on the back of investments of between €10 million and €50 million. The fund’s LP base is almost exclusively European.

The core fund already has two assets under its belt – a 25 percent stake in the 34km Somerton Pipeline in Australia, which provides 85 percent of the jet fuel to the country’s second-busiest airport; and 55 percent of French broadband operator ADTIM, acquired in June.

Partner Willem Jansonius, who joined from Macquarie Capital last September, is leading the core fund, drawing on the Dutch fund manager’s 75-strong team.

The close comes as Fund V is getting ready to surpass €1 billion by the end of the year. The vehicle – which is targeting €1.5 billion with a €1.75 billion hard-cap – reached a quick €355 million first close in late June, after just six weeks of fundraising. It is already invested in four assets.

Like its €1.15 billion predecessor – DIF IV, now fully committed – DIF V is targeting investments in regulated utilities, PPPs and renewables in Europe, North America and Australasia, seeking to generate gross returns of circa 13 percent.