BlackRock closes US$5.1bn Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund III

BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund (‘GEPIF’) has achieved a US$5.1 billion final close of Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund III, making it the largest alternative investment fundraise in BlackRock history. The final close value also exceeded both the original Fund target of US$3.5 billion and the original hard cap of US$4.5 billion.

The Fund’s commitments include investment mandates from over 50 institutional investors, including public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, insurance companies, and non-profit organizations across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Over 70% of the commitments are from investors in the prior fund.

Building on the investment strategy of its predecessor funds, GEPIF III aims to generate strong uncorrelated returns from investments in high-quality and essential energy infrastructure businesses and assets. These companies will generally have long-term contracts and visible revenue streams from strong counterparties and seek to provide robust dividend yields to investors.

The investments are diversified geographically and by energy sub-sectors, which primarily consist of the 1.) the power sector, including electric power generated from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro and waste-to-energy) and from natural gas, while excluding coal-generated power, 2.) the midstream sector, including energy-transportation and storage, and 3.) the utility sector.