Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners reaches first close on Copenhagen Infrastructure IV, set to become the largest renewable energy fund globally

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.“

Quelle: http://cipartners.dk/copenhagen-infrastructure-partners-reaches-first-close-on-copenhagen-infrastructure-iv-set-to-become-the-largest-renewable-energy-fund-globally/

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners reach final close on Copenhagen Infrastructure IV at the EUR 7 billion hard cap

Copenhagen, April 19, 2021

On April 16, 2021 Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) held final close on its global greenfield renewables energy fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV), one year after start of fundraising. The fund was oversubscribed and closed at the hard cap of EUR 7 billion having reached the target fund size of EUR 5.5 billion already back in December 2020.

CI IV achieved commitments from investors across the Nordics, Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia with a 50/50 split between existing investors in CIP funds and new investors. The fund’s investor base comprises approximately 100 institutional investors, primarily pension funds, life insurance companies, and family offices.

“We are very pleased to welcome a prominent group of existing and new institutional investors to CI IV, and look forward to continuing to create value for our investors, project partners, and communities through the fund’s investments in greenfield renewable energy projects. We are delighted that investors share our confidence in and appetite for greenfield renewables and have decided to invest alongside CIP in some of the largest clean energy projects across the globe within offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, transmission, and storage”, says Jakob Baruël Poulsen, Managing Partner at CIP.

With EUR 7 billion in commitments, CI IV is the largest dedicated greenfield renewable energy fund globally and is expected to invest in greenfield renewable energy infrastructure projects with total CAPEX in excess of EUR 14 billion. With the establishment of CI IV, CIP’s total portfolio of renewables investments is estimated to reduce the equivalent of approximately 10-11 million tonnes of CO2 and sustainably power approximately 5-6 million households each year in the countries where the funds invest.

CI IV is off to a strong start with final investment decisions on three investments during the first six months of the fund’s investment period and with ownership to more than 15 attractive renewable energy projects with a potential investment amount exceeding the fund size. Approximately 1/3 of the fund has already been committed to investments and the fund is expected to become fully committed within 2-3 years. The greenfield energy infrastructure investments in CIP’s predecessor funds have demonstrated strong performance and the CI IV investment pipeline is robust with an attractive outlook in line with predecessor funds.

The investment strategy of CI IV is a continuation of the successful predecessor funds CI I, CI II and CI III, and is tailored to institutional investors with a long-term investment horizon. CI IV will focus on greenfield investments within core energy infrastructure projects and investments are based on long-term contracted cash flows and robust investment structures including low energy price risk exposure and cautious use of financial leverage. The fund has a global reach and will diversify investments across technologies such as offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, transmission, storage, and waste-to-energy in low risk OECD countries in Western Europe, North America, developed Asia, and Australia.

Following final close on CI IV, CIP has seven funds under management with total commitments of approximately EUR 15 billion. CIP expects to establish its eighth fund (CI Energy Transition Fund I) during Q2 2021. The fund will invest in infrastructure assets decarbonizing the fossil-based fuels and feedstock markets and facilitate the decarbonization of the hard-to-abate industries such as transportation, steel, and chemicals processing.

For the marketing of CI IV, Bruun & Hjejle law firm and Plesner law firm acted as legal counsel, KPMG Acor Tax as tax advisor, and Selinus Capital Advisors, Compagnie Financiere Jacques Coeur (CFJC), Allen Partners, and Eaton Partners as placement agents.

About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) is a fund management company focused on energy infrastructure including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, and other energy assets like reserve capacity and storage. CIP has approximately 150 employees and offices in Copenhagen, Taipei, New York, Tokyo, Utrecht, and London.

CIP manages seven funds and has approximately EUR 15 billion under management. PensionDanmark was founding and sole investor in CI I and CI A I. Today CIP’s funds have approximately 100 international institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Asia, Australia, and North America and multi-lateral organizations e.g. EIB.

CIP was founded in 2012 by senior executives from the energy industry in cooperation with PensionDanmark.

For further information, please contact:
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners: Partner Steen Lønberg Jørgensen (via Kelly Bork on +45 7070 5151 or e-mail ir@cip.dk)