Partners Group to target up to €5bn for new direct fund – exclusive

Partners Group will target between €4 billion and €5 billion for its next direct infrastructure fund, Infrastructure Investor has learnt.

The Swiss private markets group is planning the launch of Partners Group Direct Infrastructure 2020 but is believed not to have set a firm target for the vehicle.

It is understood the fund will continue the strategy employed by previous direct infrastructure funds of investments in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific in sectors such as energy, communications, utilities and transport, with net returns aimed at between 8-12 percent.

Partners Group traditionally invests in assets or platforms through multiple vintages of its infrastructure offering, as well as through different private markets funds. This was the case in the 2018 investments in energy services provider Techem and utilities services provider USIC, which were led by its private equity strategy and supported by its infrastructure funds.

Partners Group declined to comment on the fundraising.

Partners Group Direct Infrastructure 2020 is set to be the firm’s largest ever infrastructure fundraise and will be the successor to its 2016 vintage, which raised €2.2 billion in February last year, alongside a further €800 million through “a number of other commingled funds and mandates which were raised in parallel”, the firm said at the time.

Investments from the 2016 fund include the 750MW Borssele IV offshore wind farm in the Netherlands; US midstream energy group Raven; and High Capacity Metro Trains, a project to design and deliver 65 trains to the State of Victoria in Australia.

Last month, Partners Group reported it had €10 billion of assets under management in infrastructure, representing 12 percent of its business.