Toronto-based Stonebridge Financial Corp. has held a final close for its first fund, Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund I LP (SIDF), with $204.1 million in capital commitments. The fund didn’t have an official launch date as it was established mostly for clients of PBI Actuarial Consultants Ltd., an actuarial pension, benefits and investment consulting firm.
“We’re happy with the final close amount since the infrastructure debt market is a new asset class for most institutional investors,” says Louis Bélanger, the fund’s managing director.
Eight institutional investors committed to the fund, including the Business Development Bank of Canada, the Teamsters Canadian Pension Plan and six more Canadian pension funds.
SIDF invests in Canada, mostly in club deals syndicated to life insurance companies. Investment types include social infrastructure, such as courthouses, hospitals, schools, and energy infrastructure such as non-merchant energy projects and distribution networks.
To date, the fund has invested approximately $49.0 million of its capital. Investments include $5.4 million in a long-term care facility in Québec; $22.5 million in a 10-megawatt solar farm in Ontario; $12.4 million in a long-term care facility in Ontario; and $8.7 million in a public college in Ontario. Bélanger says the fund has pending financings worth approximately $60 million, which should be completed within the next three months.
Stonebridge aims to have the fund fully invested within the next 12 to 18 months, with a subsequent fund ready to launch by that time.
