Global Infrastructure Partners raises record US$15.8b fund

[NEW YORK] Global Infrastructure Partners, an owner of London's Gatwick Airport, raised a record US$15.8 billion for the largest fund of its kind as President Donald Trump pledges to rebuild America's roads and bridges.

The $40 billion New York-based firm focuses on projects in the energy, transport, water and waste sectors, including investments in the Port of Melbourne in Australia and a joint venture with Hess Corp in the Bakken Shale. The new fund, the private-equity firm's third, is almost double its previous pool in 2012, when it collected US$8.25 billion, Adebayo Ogunlesi, GIP's chairman, said in an interview.

"The next phase is to make the case for much greater private involvement," Mr Ogunlesi said. "There's a tremendous wall of capital that wants to invest in infrastructure." GIP added 94 new investors to the fund for a total of 191. "More and more institutions are accepting that this is a distinct asset class," he said.

In December, Mr Ogunlesi was named to Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum, a panel of business people that includes Blackstone Group LP Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman, JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock Inc CEO Laurence Fink. Trump, as well as Democrats, have said they have plans to spend US$1 trillion on infrastructure.

Both Mr Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaigned on increased infrastructure spending, and Mr Ogunlesi said that's raised the profile of such investments to the general public.

GIP's investments have combined annual revenues of over US$32 billion and employ more than 48,000 people.

BLOOMBERG