Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) reaches EUR 1.5 billion first close on Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV), which is set to become the largest fund globally within renewable energy infrastructure investments with a target fund size of EUR 5.5 billion. With strong appetite among institutional investors the fund is expected to achieve capital commitments of EUR 5-7 billion and invest EUR 10-14 billion in greenfield renewable energy infrastructure across North America, Western Europe, developed Asia and Australia. The investment strategy of CI IV will be a continuation of the successful CI I, CI II, and CI III, and as a renewables market leader and pioneer CIP will continue to take a key role in the energy transition.
“We are very pleased to reach first close of CI IV with a mix of existing and new blue-chip institutional investors committing to the fund. We are honored by the continued investor confidence in CIP’s approach to energy infrastructure investments and look forward to continuing to create value for our investors, project owners, and local communities through the fund’s investments. The market timing is favorable for greenfield renewable infrastructure investments, and the fund and CIP are well positioned to capture the attractive market opportunity with significant visibility of the investment pipeline and a high degree of execution certainty delivered by a large team of experienced industrialists” says Jakob Baruël Poulsen, Managing Partner in CIP.
The new fund reached a first close of EUR 1.5 billion on June 15, 2020 with capital commitments from a group of leading institutional investors, including the two Danish pension funds PensionDanmark and AP Pension, KLP from Norway as well as pension and life companies and large family offices. Several other prominent institutional investors are in the process of committing to CI IV, including investors from among others the Nordics, Continental Europe, UK, Israel, North America, Asia and Australia.
The investment strategy is a continuation of the successful predecessor funds Copenhagen Infrastructure I, II and III, and is tailored to institutional investors with a long-term investment horizon. The fund will focus on greenfield investments within core energy infrastructure. It has a global reach and will diversify investments across technologies such as contracted offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, transmission, storage, waste-to-energy and biomass assets in low risk OECD countries in Western Europe, North America and developed Asia Pacific.
The investments of the fund are expected to have a significant positive environmental impact (including CO2 reduction) and create high quality jobs in the local communities of the assets. With the establishment of CI IV, CIP’s total portfolio of investments are estimated to save the equivalent of approximately 10-11 million tonnes of CO2 each year and sustainably power approximately 5-6 million households across the globe.
”We are pleased and proud to manage and invest what is set to become the largest renewable energy infrastructure fund ever raised globally, and we are excited about delivering energy infrastructure projects of EUR 10-14 billion in close cooperation with our industrial partners and local communities. We take pride in creating value for our investors while enabling the energy transition to a modern low carbon energy system”, says Steen Lønberg Jørgensen, Partner in CIP.
“Since CIP was established in 2012 with PensionDanmark as sole investor we have had a very satisfactory collaboration which we are delighted to continue in a so far unprecedented scale. We look forward to benefit once again from CIP’s profound knowledge in our joined effort to invest in renewable energy infrastructure. Our investment will generate great value for our members and at the same time make a substantial contribution in the struggle to achieve the climate goals on a global level”, says Torben Möger Pedersen, CEO at PensionDanmark.
“We are proud to be part of the world’s largest renewable energy infrastructure fund. With a EUR 335m investment we are taking a big step towards fulfilling our ambition to contribute to the green transition, benefiting both the climate and our customer’s pension savings. Being able to do so locally here in Denmark with CIP, who has an impressive history and unique expertise in this field, is just an added bonus”, says Bo Normann Rasmussen, CEO at AP Pension.
Harald Koch-Hagen, SVP of Risk Management & Allocation in KLP, highlighted that “This new investment is a part of our effort to find attractive investment opportunities that are characterized by stability and predictability for KLP’s customers. When fully deployed and when taken together with our other investments in other CIP funds it also represents a significant contribution to KLP’s ambition to facilitate sustainable investments in renewable energy infrastructure.”
Following first close of CI IV, CIP has seven funds under management with total commitments of around EUR 9.5 billion. The new fund CI IV has a target fund size of EUR 5.5bn and final close is expected during the next 9 months.
Bruun & Hjejle, Clifford Chance, and Fried Frank act as legal counsel. Selinus, Eaton Partners, and CFJC act as placement agents.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S is a Danish fund management company specialized in investing in the energy infrastructure sector. The company was established in 2012 and is today a global leader, market pioneer and the largest financial sponsor with a dedicated energy infrastructure focus. CIP has approximately 110 employees and offices in Copenhagen, New York, London, Utrecht and Tokyo.
CIP has seven funds with around EUR 10bn in commitment under management. The funds have currently made 20 investments in large scale energy infrastructure assets totaling almost 8GW in capacity across the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, and Taiwan. In addition, more than 15 greenfield energy infrastructure projects are in process to reach final investment decision and start of construction within the next 2-3 years. Investors in the funds include several blue-chip institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, and multi-lateral organizations e.g. EIB. The investors in CIP’s funds comprise mainly pension and life companies and large family offices.