May 2019 issue

    Industrial strength

    More than halfway towards its €1bn hard-cap, KKR veteran Jesús Olmos’s new outfit is off to a strong start.

    Intermediate by name, mid-market by nature

    When ICG thought about setting up an infra business, it was lucky enough to find a team at EDF Invest ready and waiting. New head Guillaume d’Engremont outlines the plan.

    A deal-sourcing head start

    An agreement with AECOM to source projects and a focus on greenfield make AVAIO Capital stand out from the mid-market pack.

    Three new mid-market outfits to watch out for

    With average fund sizes getting bigger and bigger, new GPs are – wisely – choosing to target the mid-market. We cast the spotlight on three new firms with roots in larger industry outfits.

    Norway’s sovereign fund shouldn’t stop at unlisted renewables

    Taking its motives at face value, there is no obvious reason for the Government Pension Fund Global not to invest across the wider infra universe.

    Digital: Bridging the digital divide

    Izzet Güney and Henri Piganeau, of Cube Infrastructure Managers’ Connecting Europe Broadband Fund, highlight the opportunity presented by fibre-optic rollout in European rural areas

    Digital: From then to now

    An overview of the milestones in the digital revolution, from 1947 to today, helps point the way to what’s next

    ‘Deals like this don’t grow on trees’

    Oaktree Capital Management wasn’t looking for a partner when Brookfield Asset Management approached it. Founder Howard Marks discusses the merger, and what lies ahead for private markets

    Three things that could derail UK’s infra investment boom

    Claire Smith, alternatives director at Schroders, discusses the potential disruption from renationalisation, regulatory reforms and Brexit

    Digital: Three top trends

    Digital infrastructure is a relatively new sector and is developing rapidly, with investment pouring into data centres, fibre and towers

    Roundtable: Moving to the mid-market

    With Australia’s asset-recycling programme over, dealflow is now a solidly mid-market affair. But our roundtable participants tell us they do not see a slowdown soon.

    Will investors heed former World Bank chief’s advice?

    Meridiam’s second closing of its Africa infrastructure fund shows both the opportunities provided by the continent and investors’ continued perceptions of it.

    Digital: How digital became integral

    Digital infrastructure is already mainstream and keeps growing in importance

    Digital: Five things we learnt in Berlin

    Digital infrastructure was a hot topic at this year’s Global Summit. Here are the highlights from the biggest event in the infrastructure investment calendar

    Relevance at every point in the cycle

    In buying Oaktree and capturing its credit business, Brookfield now has capital to serve its clients at all times, says chief executive Bruce Flatt

    Digital: Fast five

    From what excites them to what worries them, LPs and GPs share their views on the digital sector

    Digital: Investing for tomorrow’s needs, today

    AMP Capital partner Matt Evans explains how investing in the systems that connect people, business and things can harness the growth and progress of our digital journey

    Digital: A great capacity to build

    DIF partner Willem Jansonius discusses starting small, building scale and enhancing value in the global under-developed telecoms infrastructure sector

    Predicting the future without a crystal ball

    With technology rapidly changing, making accurate predictions – and successful long-term investments – is increasingly hard. But, as Ben Hammersley explains, it is by no means impossible

    ‘Brook-tree’ is an outcome of what the money wants

    Both institutional investors and equities shareholders have been pushing for consolidation in private markets in a bid to stabilise profits.

    The direct investor who became a money manager

    With C$18bn in the asset class, OMERS’ head of infrastructure Ralph Berg says that partnering with some of the world’s most sophisticated institutions is ‘now a core pillar’ of the pension’s strategy

    Will the RAB model last?

    Tim Briggs, a partner in Herbert Smith Freehills’ competition, trade and regulation practice, on why the UK’s regulatory framework has been so successful, its greenfield potential and how it could all fall apart

    Digital: Building value, earning trust

    Marc Ganzi, co-founder and CEO of Digital Bridge, on telecoms’ evolution from venture capital play to burgeoning institutional digital infrastructure asset class

    France threatens to fall down the referendum rabbit hole

    Resorting to a plebiscite to block the privatisation of airport operator ADP would not only be counterproductive, it would set a dangerous precedent whereby a minority in parliament could block legislation it didn’t like.