EQT has announced that its third fund for infrastructure investments, EQT Infrastructure III, has been closed at the hard cap of €4 billion (US$4.2 million).

The fund was raised in less than six months which is the fastest fund raise in EQT’s history to date. The fund will follow EQT's overall infrastructure investment strategy – applying an industrial approach to infrastructure investing – and continue to make investments in sectors such as energy, transport and logistics, environmental, telecom and social infrastructure mainly in Europe and North America.

Interest from both existing and new investors was strong and the fund was heavily oversubscribed. Despite the demand, EQT remained committed to raising an appropriately sized fund. The fund will be deployed in line with the objectives of delivering value to investors by investing in high-quality companies and develop them into strong and sustainable businesses.

The fund has already signed four acquisitions: GlobalConnect A/S, a provider of B2B data communication services in Denmark; a strategic partnership with the German energy service solutions provider GETEC ENERGIE HOLDING GmbH under a newly formed joint venture company; Delta Comfort, a telecom infrastructure company and supplier of energy in the Dutch province of Zeeland; and Lumos Networks, a fiber based data and broadband service provider in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.

EQT Infrastructure III is backed by a global investor base including, among others, AP4, Ardian, BlackRock, The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Danica Pension, Fubon Life Insurance Company, Funds SA, Golding Capital Partners, Ilmarinen, KEVA, LGIAsuper, Local Government Super, Maine Public Employees Retirement System, Nan Shan Life Insurance Company, The New York City Retirement Systems, Oregon Investment Council, Pantheon, Sampension, Skandia, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Varma, VER and Virginia Retirement System.

Lennart Blecher, Deputy Managing Partner and Head of Real Assets at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to the Fund, said:

“We believe that there is continued demand for infrastructure investments that will bring attractive market opportunities. EQT can add true value in areas where there is a heavy need for both private investments and innovation. The team has a great track record of delivering creative ideas and solutions as advisors to EQT’s previous infrastructure investments. We are poised to start investigating new and exciting opportunities.”

Thomas von Koch, Managing Partner of EQT Partners, says:

“We are truly humbled by the interest investors have shown for EQT’s third infrastructure fund. I strongly believe that EQT’s passion for developing companies will continue to create sustainable values for both investors, companies and also society as a whole.”

The capital raising effort was led by EQT’s Investor Relations team. Jussi Saarinen, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at EQT Partners says:

"This marks yet another important milestone in the long-term strategy of EQT. It fortifies EQT’s position as a leading global alternative investments firm. Around two-thirds of the commitments were made by investors in prior EQT funds, confirming the strength of being an integrated alternative investments firm. The Investor Relations team is fully dedicated to give EQT’s investors, across the platform, the best possible service and we are convinced that having such capacities internally will be a future success factor.”