Private investor Ardian has closed its latest infrastructure fund.
The company this week announced the final closing of $2.1 billion for its Ardian Americas Infrastructure Fund V (AAIF V).
AAIF V will invest in ‘high-quality, mid-market US and other OECD American essential infrastructure assets’ in the telecommunications, transportation, and energy transition sectors.
“We are thankful for the support of our new and existing investors,” said Mathias Burghardt, member of the executive committee and head of Ardian Infrastructure. “The success of our latest fundraise clearly demonstrates their continued trust in our approach. We will continue to prioritize long-term value creation through our disciplined industrial approach.”
Ardian said the fund was significantly oversubscribed, exceeding its hard cap of $2 billion, and 'significantly larger' than AAIF IV, which raised $800 million in 2018.
The fundraise attracted more than 60 investors from 17 countries across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia; comprising major pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, Fund of Funds, endowments, and high-net-worth investors.
The fund drew a mix of new investors and returning investors, who on average doubled their previous commitments to the strategy. The fund is already more than 15 percent committed via an infrastructure transaction acquiring Unison, a leading buyer and manager of telecom site properties in the US, to build a global platform of wireless infrastructure assets.
“The market opportunity for high-quality, mid-market infrastructure assets is compelling, and even more so with the powerful tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act. Our ability to leverage Ardian’s strong proprietary deal flow along with our industrial approach positions us exceptionally well in the current environment,” added Mark Voccola, Co-Head of Ardian Infrastructure Americas.
Ardian's previous digital infrastructure investments include Spanish fiber to the home (FTTH) company Adamo, Italian tower firm Inwit, and Germany’s EWE AG. Last year it acquired Icelandic telco Míla.
The company recently took part in DigitalBridge’s recapitalization of DataBank.
