Yearly Archives: 2023

High Five for Maryland!

Brookfield Asset Management will be high fiving and singing songs of praise following confirmation that Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (SRPS) has approved a $300m (€278.2m) commitment to its fifth global infrastructure fund; Brookfield Infrastructure Fund V (BIF V).With a focus on midstream and renewable energy, data/utilities and transportation, Maryland SRPS will be hoping that the investment provides an energy boost to its $3.1 billion infrastructure asset portfolio. The new capital commitment takes Brookfield one step closer as it targets $25 billion for the fund.

inspired by IPE Real Assets

Temple of boom

The era of cheap money has helped private debt balloon to $1.5 trillion but the temple of private debt could face a number of sacrifices in the coming period.Oaktree Capital Management co-founder Howard Marks has voiced concerns that high interest rates and slowing economic growth could test portfolios that were built in previous years when it seemed every private debt lender was worshipping in the same temple. But a more challenging macro environment is eating in to profit margins, placing significantly more stress on some portfolios. Marks, however, is bullish on the outlook and sees this as a good climate to be exploring new opportunities, with higher interest rates offering attractive returns for those wishing to venture further into direct lending space as US banks continue to retrench. For now, fund managers might well be praying that they avoid corporate defaults in their existing fund vintages.

inspired by Financial Times

Ad-Vantage Europe

Mast be appealing; European infrastructure that is. As the Financial Times reports, UniSuper, the Australian pension fund, has acquired an indirect 5% stake – worth $677 million – in Vantage Towers, the European telecom masts business owned by Vodafone.This is the first signal of intent by UniSuper as it looks to increase its global infrastructure investment portfolio. Vodafone sold a chunk of Vantage Towers to a consortium of investors last November including KKR; the PE giant through whom UniSuper has made the investment. Mobile telecom towers are vital to the roll-out of 5G (and beyond). No doubt other infrastructure investors will be looking to take ad-Vantage of future opportunities in Europe.

inspired by Financial Times

Getty outta here

It is understood that Getty Images has turned down a $4 billion takeover bid by US venture capital firm, Trillium Capital.The proposed offer slipped out of focus because Getty Images, who only went public in 2022, claimed it was not “sufficiently credible”, according to PetaPixel. It hasn’t been a great few weeks for M&A, with Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition for Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard rejected by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. Whether Getty Images receives fresh bids over the coming months remains to be seen. For now though, the message seems 8K-pixel clear: Getty outta here!

inspired by The Art Newspaper

Crack Spread

With falling stock prices, fund losses and a difficult fundraising environment, some of the private equity industry’s biggest players are starting to see cracks emerge Blackstone and The Carlyle Group have seen their share prices fall by 20% and 14% over the past 12 months. Blackstone’s real estate fund has attracted significant redemptions from investors as fears rise over the state of the US commercial real estate market. Apollo too is believed to be struggling to raise capital for its 10th fund as investors weigh up the future prospects for PE returns. Maybe the cracks will turn out to be temporary, or just a façade; like One River North, a new building under construction in Denver which will feature a green space running through its middle like a huge earthquake-induced crack.

inspired by Fox Business