Global infrastructure fundraising 2010-Q1 2015

Click here for a larger version

Fourteen unlisted infrastructure funds held a final close in the first quarter of 2015, raising a total of $10.7 billion. This represents a 15 percent decline from the $12.6 billion raised in the same period in 2014, which was the best Q1 performance in six years.

The biggest fund closed in Q1 2015 was Blackstone Energy Partners II, which raised $4.5 billion, surpassing its $4 billion fundraising target. Its predecessor was also oversubscribed at $2.58 billion in 2012 with the same strategy. Colonial First State’s European Diversified Infrastructure Fund (EDIF), which held its fifth and final close in January with €2 billion in total commitments, was the second largest fund to close in Q1 2015. Pantheon Ventures’ Global Infrastructure Fund II, which closed in March with over $1 billion in total commitments, was the second largest fund to close in Q1 2015.

The average size of unlisted infrastructure funds has been climbing since 2011 and reached $885 million in 2014. However, this number dropped to $767 million in Q1 2015. Given the unstable Q1 fundraising performance, it is too early to tell if the upward trend of fund size has reversed.