On Wednesday, Swedish private equity and real assets investment manager EQT announced the launch of a new Active Core Infrastructure. Primarily focused on Europe and North America, the strategy will target core infrastructure companies that provide essential services to society and offer a distinct and attractive risk-return proposition based on stable cash yield generation, inflation protection, low volatility, and pursuit of longer-term value creation opportunities.
The fund will maintain longer-hold ownership horizon of 15 to 25 years, targeting core infrastructure companies at the lower end of the risk-return spectrum aim to unlock investment opportunities that historically have fallen outside of the investment scope of EQT’s existing infrastructure strategy. As part of EQT’s broader Real Assets platform, the fund will apply EQT’s active ownership and value creation approach, drawing from its infrastructure sector teams’ sourcing capabilities, industry insights, and local market access.
EQT Active Core Infrastructure’s deal selection will consider a sustainability framework designed to deliver positive impact and mitigate the long-term risk of business model disruption in its portfolio. Investment opportunities will be sourced across three sustainability themes: climate and environment, people and society, and sustainable growth and equality. Within these themes, the Fund will seek to invest in companies that actively support at least one of its six sustainability objectives: energy transition and decarbonization; circular economy and resource efficiency; equitable digital opportunities; basic utility and social services for all; sustainable global trade; and accessible mobility solutions.
The launch of EQT Active Core reinforces EQT’s commitment to sustainability, as the first private markets firm globally to formalize its science based targets (“SBTs”) through the Science Based Targets initiative. The Fund will develop tailored decarbonization plans for each investment and set ambitious greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets for its portfolio companies’ operations using the SBTs. EQT Active Core Infrastructure’s longer-term scope and active ownership approach mean that the implementation and fulfillment of portfolio companies’ SBTs are expected to be completed during the Fund’s tenure.
“In recent years, we have seen a growing portion of attractive investment opportunities in core infrastructure companies that we have not been able to pursue with EQT’s existing infrastructure strategy,” said Lennart Blecher, Head of EQT Real Assets and Deputy Managing Partner. “Building on our global platform and expertise, we believe EQT Active Core Infrastructure offers a unique value proposition that will further increase the relevance and importance of EQT as a partner for the fund investors, portfolio companies and the societies we operate in.”
EQT Active Core Infrastructure will have a target fund size of EUR 5 billion (about $5.5 billion). No hard cap has been set to date and the actual fund size is dependent on the outcome of the fundraising process, meaning it may ultimately be higher or lower than the target fund size.
