3i Infrastructure invests £103m in last six months

The new commitments bring the publicly listed infrastructure fund’s total investments to £546m since inception. 3i Infrastructure has invested 80 percent of its £700m IPO proceeds to date.

3i Infrastructure, a publicly listed UK infrastructure fund advised by private equity firm 3i, made net investments of £103 million ($190 million, €126 million) in the first half of its 2008-2009 financial year, according to a pre-close period briefing published yesterday.

The investment activity was mainly comprised of a further investment of £87.6 million into a portfolio of three UK junior debt instruments that include electricity provider Viridian, water utility Thames Water and broadcast provider NGW/Arqiva. The fund had previously invested £34.2 million in the companies’ junior debt instruments.

Additionally, 3i Infrastructure made further investments of £12.4 million in the secondary fund, Infrastructure Investors, £4.7 million in school public finance fund, Alpha Schools, and £1.9 million in university accommodation public finance fund, Alma Mater. In July, 3i Infrastructure also sold its entire interest in the Alma Mater fund for £41.9 million.

Overall, these commitments bring the fund’s total investment activity to £546 million since its listing on the London Stock Exchange in January last year. Including undrawn commitments, 3i Infrastructure has invested 80 percent of its IPO and subsequent placement proceeds of £700 million and £115 million, respectively.

The fund’s objectives are to have all the IPO proceeds invested within two years and to achieve a 12 percent return on the initial net proceeds. 3i Infrastructure Chairman Peter Sedgwick said in a statement that “the company’s portfolio is generating returns in line with expectations”. A spokesman declined to comment further.