OMERS names new Asia infrastructure head

Maheshwari (pictured) is replacing Bruce Crane, who stepped down from the role in June, and will relocate from London to Singapore in 2021. He will be responsible for OMERS’ infrastructure activities across the region with the exception of Australia, which is overseen by Christopher Curtain, a managing director based in Sydney.

Maheshwari joined OMERS last year in the UK with a global infrastructure remit that included a focus on transportation and renewable energy. He currently sits on the boards of Associated British Ports and London City Airport. 

Previously, he served 12 years as a senior principal at Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), where he worked on deals in the power, energy, and transport sectors globally. This included GIP’s $5 billion acquisition of Equis Energy, a platform of 180 clean energy assets across Australia, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia that was said to be the largest renewables portfolio in Asia. GIP has since rebranded the project as Vena Energy.

“Asia represents structural growth in a demographics play, with a rising middle class, urbanization, a vibrant labor force, and a propensity to spend – which all leads to a need for either the organization of existing infrastructure or new-build infrastructure,” Maheshwari told AVCJ. “That thesis echoed with me in terms of what I have seen having been involved in the region on prior transactions across infrastructure space.”

Maheshwari expects transportation, especially in India, to be a significant theme in the foreseeable future. OMERS made its first investment in the space last year, paying INR8.7 billion ($116 million) for a 22% stake in IndInfravit Trust, which controls five toll road concessions. Other focus sectors will include digital telecommunications. Geographies of interest also include Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

As of December 2019, OMERS had C$109 billion ($83 billion) in assets under management, of which about 8% was invested in Asia Pacific. Infrastructure accounts for about 19% of the asset mix globally, while 14% is in private equity. Earlier this month, Asia private equity head David Payne, who set up the Singapore office in 2018, left the group.

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