InstarAGF Asset Management Inc. and AGF Management Limited have held a final close of InstarAGF Essential Infrastructure Fund, with C$740 million ($561 million) in aggregate equity commitments from institutional and high-net-worth investors from Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Approximately 30 percent of the capital raised by the fund has already been committed to three investments: an interest in the passenger terminal at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, a vital transportation hub for the city of Toronto and surrounding region; a 30-megawatt wind power facility in British Columbia’s Okanagan region; and an interest in Steel Reef Infrastructure Corp., a Canadian midstream energy services company that operates in top-quartile basins in Western Canada.
The fund focuses on energy, utilities, civil and social infrastructure assets that exhibit sustainable downside protection, typically as a result of long-term contracts, concession agreements or a regulatory regime. The fund held a C$372 million ($282 million) first close in March 2016, and a C$522 million ($396 million) second close in November 2016.
“Investors are increasingly embracing infrastructure investments at a time when communities and governments in Canada and the United States are urgently seeking innovative solutions and financing approaches to address burgeoning infrastructure deficits and position for the future,” said Gregory Smith, president and CEO of InstarAGF.
InstarAGF is an independent alternative asset management firm with an emphasis on North American middle-market opportunities in the infrastructure sector and other alternative real asset categories.