Fundraising

QIC plots return to market with up to $5bn fund – exclusive

A new USD-denominated fund is thought to be planned for later this year, after QIC raised a further A$1bn for its global fund in October.

-

QIC is planning to launch its second Global Infrastructure Fund later this year, Infrastructure Investor has learned, following the A$1 billion ($725 million; €682 million) extension of its first vehicle last October.

The Queensland government-owned investment company is yet to finalise a target for the new fund, Infrastructure Investor understands, although it is thought this will likely be placed at between $3 billion and $5 billion.

While the first QGIF was raised in Australian dollars, it is believed its successor will be US dollar-denominated, to reflect its broader investment base outside of its domestic clients, as well as a greater comfort among LPs with the US dollar.

QIC declined to comment on the fundraising.

QGIF I was first launched in 2015 with a A$1.75 billion target, reaching a A$2.35 billion close in March 2017 after garnering commitments from 20 LPs in Australasia, China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe.

However, QIC reopened the fund last year to new and existing LPs, raising a further A$1 billion for “bolt-on opportunities arising from assets within the fund already, and to further diversify the fund into new thematically linked investments”, QIC partner Kirsten Whitehead told us at the time. She added that over half of the new capital came from existing investors.

About half of the additional capital had been deployed upon October’s closing, which included expanding its presence in the US with the purchase of electricity and heating platform CenTrio, as well as a further investment in distributed clean energy group Generate Capital, in which QIC is the largest investor with a 24.9 percent stake. Other assets in the fund include Australian platform Tilt Renewables, Brussels Airport and North American university parking group CampusParc.

QIC’s global infrastructure portfolio, inclusive of assets in and out of the fund, was generating a net IRR since inception of 14.1 percent, according to its 2020-21 annual report, a marginal increase from the 14 percent recorded the previous year.