Following a significant uptick in the second quarter, private equity infrastructure fundraising activity fell back to a more normal level in Q3/2021, according to the i3 fundraising database. Despite trailing Q2/2021, the third quarter still came in well ahead of Q3/2020. By the end of Q3/2021, 12 funds had raised more than $22.5 billion in equity capital. This is about 37 percent less than the $35.6 billion raised through 16 fund closings in the second quarter, but 41 percent more than the $15.9 billion raised a year ago in Q3/2020.

The funds closed in Q3/2021 were relatively small when compared to the surge in megafunds we have become accustomed to. Just four of the 12 reached $2 billion or more. Only one, the $6.9 billion Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V (MIP V), raised more than $3 billion. MIP V is a global fund with a wide-ranging strategy focused on communications, telecoms, energy, ports, transportation, utilities, waste and water.

The other three large fund