Warburg Pincus targets $3bn for new energy fund

New York-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus has started fundraising for a new energy fund that has a target of $3 billion, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The fund will invest in oil and gas exploration and production as well as midstream assets, a source told Infrastructure Investor.

Foreside Fund Services and JP Morgan Securities served as placement agents for the fund, according to the SEC filing. Warburg Pincus declined to comment.

Infrastructure Investor was able to confirm that the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE), a state agency whose functions include managing an endowment trust fund, has already made a commitment to Warburg Pincus Energy.

OSRHE pledged $7 million to the fund last month following the recommendation of its investment consultant Mercer Hammond.

“Warburg Pincus Energy, LP represents an opportunity to invest with a proven and stable manager with demonstrated sector expertise focused on a broad, global energy investment strategy,” Mercer Hammond stated, according to OSRHE meeting materials.

“The firm’s portfolio is relatively unconstrained by stage or geography with investments of 50-55 percent in the US, 15-20 percent in Canada and 20-30 percent across the rest of the globe,” the consultant added.

Established in 1941, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is a coordinated network of universities and colleges throughout the state. In addition to serving as trustee of the trust fund, OSRHE also controls and coordinates the institutions within the network by prescribing higher education standards, granting degrees and recommending to the state legislature the budget allocations for each institution.

Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus focuses on growth investing. The firm has more than $37 billion in assets under management and to date has raised 13 private equity funds, which have invested more than $48 billion in over 700 companies globally.