Energy Investors Funds, a private equity fund manager that invests in the US energy and electric power sector, has closed its sixth institutional fund, the United States Power Fund II, with $750m in commitments. The original target was $500m.
Investors in US Power Fund II - the firm’s largest fund to date – include the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, John Hancock Life Insurance Company, Kauffman Foundation, MIT, Pacific Life, UnionBanCal Equities, and University of North Carolina, in addition to other corporate and public pension funds, funds of funds, endowments and foundations, insurance companies, banks and financial institutions. The global investor base represents the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, with 31 investors in total and 85 per cent returning, Energy Investors Funds said in a statement.
‘Investor response to US Power Fund II was extremely positive, resulting in a greater diversity in our limited partner base for this fund,’ said John Buehler, Energy Investors Funds managing partner. ‘There is ongoing interest in our investment strategy in the power and energy market, and we have been able to attract an array of investors as a result of our 18-year track record as the pioneer private equity investor in this sector.’
US Power Fund II has already made three investments: Glen Park Hydroelectric Project, Neptune Regional Transmission System, and a New York-based transmission project.
Energy Investors Funds was founded in 1987.