Cezary Podkul
Devising the ranking requires rules, judgment and a willingness to dive into the grey areas of a multi-faceted asset class
The Zanbato Group is beta-testing a website that matches buyers and sellers of infrastructure assets and fund interests. Zanbato was founded last year by Stanford Professor Ryan Orr and is backed by Macquarie veteran Murray Bleach.
The 7.2km A25 Bridge and Highway in Montreal has opened for traffic on budget and ahead of schedule, making the C$600m project the second operational toll bridge in the portfolio of the $4bn Macquarie Infrastructure Partners I fund.
The state’s $40bn permanent fund may also hire new managers on top of its existing manager suite comprised of Citi, GIP and Goldman Sachs.
The Texas-based energy developer held a first close on the Panda Power Generation Infrastructure Fund a year ago on $178m. The fund has since broken ground on a solar project in New Jersey, which it is developing jointly with Con Edison.
The property developer has hired former Merrill Lynch managing director Duncan Taylor to build a fund management platform in Australia, where Lend Lease recently acquired Bilfinger Berger’s Australian business and has teamed up with a group of former Babcock & Brown pros to source deals.
The Boston-based energy investor has indicated in a regulatory filing that it has raised that much for its latest fund, which is targeting $2bn in total commitments.
The firm is looking to hold a third close soon on the fund, which recently restructured to a ‘hybrid’ vehicle with a finite life that can be extended in five-year blocks.
A fundraising effort for the Alinda US Core Infrastructure Fund is under way, with former CPPIB infrastructure head Graeme Bevans serving as the head of the firm’s new core infrastructure team. The fund will focus on ‘mature, operating infrastructure investments’, according to information disclosed by a California pension.
The addition of UBS utilities banker James Metcalfe rounds out a six-member senior management team devoted to core infrastructure, a new strategy for the independent fund manager. Metcalfe’s hire comes as Alinda is opening a office in Houston and plans another office in continental Europe.