2018 is shaping up to be a very good year for private equity infrastructure fundraising. And much of that good news can be traced to this being a very good year for mega-funds — those funds holding a final closing after raising $2 billion or more in commitments. As of Aug. 1, 2018, 10 mega-funds have achieved a final closing. This equals the highest number of large funds closed over an entire year going back at least five years. In addition, one more mega-fund has closed this month, which portends an unusually high number closed by the end of the year. And we know from experience that the more mega-funds that close, the more capital raised overall.
As of Aug. 1, 2018, infrastructure funds had closed on $48.6 billion, according to IREI’s FundTracker database. $37.1 billion, or 76 percent, of that was raised by mega-funds.
One of the more interesting observations is that the range of mega-funds has steadily increased. Back in 2014, the smallest mega-fund came in at $2.0 billion, while the largest was $5.0 billion. That range has dramatically expanded, with the lower end standing at $2.0 billion, but the higher end topping out at $14.0 billion in 2016 and $15.8 billion in 2017. As of Aug. 1, 2018, the smallest mega-fund in the database raised $2.0 billion, while the largest closed at $7.2 billion.
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