GIP to buy IDFC's India infrastructure business

Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. The deal will conclude after receipt of regulatory approval and will not affect IDFC's private equity and real estate businesses, according to a filing.

IDFC closed its first India infrastructure vehicle, India Infrastructure Fund 1 (IIF1) at $927 million in 2009, and closed IIF2 five years later at $900 million. The firm targets investments in energy and utilities, transport, telecom, and urban and social infrastructure, with a focus on assets that have strong, predictable cash flows, and sponsors management teams with strong track records.

IDFC's infrastructure portfolio currently includes controlling stakes in a number of assets such as the Bangalore Elevated Tollway, wind energy producer Mytrah Energy, and a group of solar power projects in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana acquired in 2017 from US-based First Solar Group. Last year the firm also completed its exit from wind and solar power producer Sembcorp Green Infra, which it launched in 2008; Singapore-based Sembcorp Utilities acquired the company across two transactions in 2015 and 2017.

GIP was founded in 2006 and is a major independent infrastructure fund manager, with global assets under management of more than $40 billion. Its most recent fund, Global Infrastructure Partners III, closed at $15.8 billion last year, exceeding the hard cap of $15.8 billion.

The firm focuses on large-scale investments in assets that provide essential services, have high barriers to entry and offer significant governance positions. It primarily targets investments in developed countries but also considers assets in select developing markets that offer the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.

Recent investments in Asia include the acquisition last year of Equis Energy, a platform of 180 assets owned by private equity investor Equis Funds Group, for $5 billion. The GP also participated in the 2016 takeover of Australian rail freight and cargo port operator Asciano, as part of a private equity consortium led by Qube Holdings and Brookfield Asset Management.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Infrastructure
• Secondaries
• Trade sale
• India
• IDFC Private Equity
• energy
• Transportation