Infranode has achieved final closing on its first fund reaching SEK4.45 billion (US$524.68 million) with AP4 joining an already strong group of local pension funds and the European Investment Bank (EIB).  The capital will be invested long-term in Nordic infrastructure.

Infranode is a Swedish company that invests long-term in essential infrastructure in the Nordics in the energy, transport, telecom and social infrastructure sectors. Infranode’s investor base is comprised of pension funds such as the fourth AP Fund, Folksam, KPA Pension and Finnish insurer LähiTapiola. Infranode has so far made two investments in Sweden and one in Norway.

Infranode is a flexible investor and can consider ownership stakes from 10% up to 100%. In the case of minority ownership, the majority owner may be both public and private. In addition to traditional ownership, Infranode may also engage in time-limited ownership through, for example, a concession or a possible repurchase.

Infranode invests in both existing infrastructure and in new construction projects. Common to all investments is a long-term ownership with a 25-year horizon with sustainability central to every step of Infranode’s investment process. Infranode has therefore developed its own tools that include ESG factors in the overall analysis of any possible investment which helps Infranode to continuously focus on sustainability during its ownership.

Investors in the fund

The fourth AP Fund is a Swedish government pension fund that manages approximately SEK350 billion and is one of the so-called “buffer funds”.

Folksam is a Swedish customer-owned insurance and pension company, through which almost every other Swedish citizen is insured. Folksam manages approximately SEK250 billion.

KPA Pension is a Swedish pension fund for municipal and county employees and is owned by Folksam and the Swedish municipalities and county councils (SKL). KPA Pension manages approximately SEK160 billion.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution in the EU and is owned by its member countries. The EIB invests capital from the EFSI (Juncker Plan), which comprises about EUR315 billion.

IMAS Foundation is a sister foundation to the INGKA Foundation, which is the owner of INGKA Group, which in turn owns the majority of IKEA’s department stores globally.

LähiTapiola is a Finnish insurance and pension company with strong regional roots and about EUR10 billion under management.

Christian Doglia, a founding partner at Infranode, stated:

“In the Nordic region, there is a significant investment need in infrastructure that is expected to exceed 200 billion euros over the next ten years. Our desire is to contribute to a more sustainable and stronger society in the Nordics through  long-term investments in essential infrastructure.”

Philip Ajina, another of Infranode’s founding partners, commented:

“The public understands that we can invest in ways that do not require them to lose the ownership of their infrastructure. Further, we have noticed that the public sector welcomes us as an investor since we invest both state and municipal pension capital.”