Private equity fund manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) has successfully completed a capital increase of R5.5-billion for its flagship Southern African Development Community (SADC) infrastructure fund called the Ideas Managed Fund.
The fundraise exceeds an initial R4.5-billion target by 20%, taking the size of the open-ended fund to more than R22-billion.
Ideas will deploy the capital in line with the fund’s existing mandate, providing investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of sustainable infrastructure assets across the SADC region.
The current fundraising has been concluded to support the deployment of an active pipeline of assets across the power, digital infrastructure and transport sectors, over the next three years, underpinned by long-term economic and environmental sustainability goals.
Historically, Ideas has primarily targeted opportunities in the renewable energy space, with a 75% allocation to investments in the sector.
These investments contribute about 25% of the clean energy supplied to South Africa’s grid and offset 3.7-million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2020, while powering the equivalent of 1.1-million households with clean energy.
This has positioned AIIM and Ideas as key players in South Africa’s clean energy transition and aligns to global support for climate change mitigation strategies.
As a pioneer in the South African infrastructure sector, Ideas has invested in a diversified portfolio of more than 40 assets involved in the delivery of key services in the transport, power, digital and social infrastructure sectors.
This approach has proven successful to date, with Ideas consistently outperforming the target returns of Consumer Price Index plus 7% since inception in 1999.
AIIM co-MD Vuyo Ntoi says the strong support from existing and new investors is indicative of investors’ confidence in AIIM and Ideas’ investment mandate.
“The market has reached an inflection point with public policy support catalysing healthy deal flow and increasing private sector investor appetite. We are pleased by the trust placed in us by the growing investor base and look forward to partnering with our investors to deliver long-term infrastructure for South Africa and the region.”
The fund manager secured commitments from 19 key South African institutional and pension fund investors, with two-thirds of the capital being committed by new investors to the fund.
AIIM SADC chief investment officer Sean Friend adds that the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the strength of infrastructure as an attractive long-term asset class, in the face of market volatility.
“All our portfolio assets remained operational during this period, resulting in strong performance and being able to outperform most other asset classes.
“In addition to delivering compelling risk-adjusted returns, the portfolio supported more than 4 000 direct jobs throughout the pandemic, and we are pleased to have been able to play a part in South Africa’s long-term economic recovery and ongoing development.”