Korea’s major investors to invest $985 mn in Antin’s infrastructure fund

The National Pension Service [Courtesy of NPS]

Some of Korea’s largest institutional investors are expected to invest more than 1.3 trillion won ($1.4 trillion) in an infrastructure investment fund raised by European private equity firm Antin Infrastructure Partners SA, suggesting that local investors may resume putting funds into such overseas deals after a slowdown due to financial market instability and interest rate hikes.

According to industry sources on Sunday, Korea’s largest institutional investor in Korea, the National Pension Service (NPS), is expected to invest 500 million euros, followed by Korea‘s sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), which will invest a significant amount of money. Other institutional investors, such as the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union, and major insurance companies, including Kyobo Life Insurance Co. and KB Insurance Co., are likely to put in funds worth a combined 50 billion to 100 billion won. The European firm’s flagship fund targets a return in the mid-10 percent range. Antin Infrastructure Fund V, which hopes to raise 10 billion euros ($11 billion).

The fund seems to be popular among domestic institutional investors most likely due to good performance in the firm’s previous flagship funds.

Since its establishment in 2008, Antin Infrastructure Partners has managed four large funds that invest in infrastructure assets in North America and Europe, generating a stable yearly internal rate of return of around 15 percent.

Institutional investors seem to respect Antin‘s stable performance amid a highly volatile market environment over the past 15 years, which has included a financial crisis and regulatory changes covering renewable energy.

Antin Infrastructure Partners is one of the leading private equity funds specializing in infrastructure investments, with about 30.6 billion euros in assets under management.

The firm has a number of investment portfolios in renewable energy, including solar photovoltaics and smart grids, as well as in energy facilities, such as refineries and transportation-related companies, including roads, railways, stations and ports.

It is actively engaged in the investment in digital and communication-relate areas, including data centers, optical networks and media facilities. The firm also has quite an amount of experience in social overhead infrastructure, such as nursing homes, hospitals and pharmaceutical distribution channels. The firm has offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg.