Dear readers, we would like to share with you the latest Preqin Quarterly Infrastructure issue. In our opinion, the most relevant conclusions that can be extracted from the report are summarized below:

• Five unlisted infrastructure funds reached a final close in Q1 2012 having raised an aggregate $2.6bn.  This represented a 69% decrease from the amount raised in Q4 2011.
• Of the five funds that reached a final close in Q1 2012, three are primarily focused on investments in Europe.
• 10 funds reached an interim close during the quarter, raising an additional $2.5bn towards their overall targets, showing that infrastructure fund managers are still attracting fresh institutional capital.
• 2012 fundraising is unlikely to significantly exceed the levels seen in 2011, when 32 funds closed having raised $16.8bn.
• The current fundraising market is saturated, with a record 151 unlisted infrastructure funds on the road targeting $97bn in fresh investor capital.
• The unlisted infrastructure fundraising market remained challenging in Q1 2012, characterized by a large number of funds in market seeking capital from an overtly cautious investor base.
• The largest infrastructure fund to close in Q1 2012 was Meridiam Infrastructure Europe II, which closed in March having raised €950mn from investors. Other significant funds to close included the $600mn Saratoga Asia Fund III and the €200mn Lloyds Bank European Infrastructure Partners

The 10 largest unlisted infrastructure funds to close over the past 12 months were the following:

• ArcLight Energy Partners Fund V  (3,310 USD). US
• United States Power Fund IV   (1,713 USD). US
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe II   (950 EUR).  Europe
• First Reserve Energy Infrastructure Fund  (1,230 USD).  US
• InfraRed Infrastructure Fund III   (1,200 USD).  Europe
• P2Brasil  (1,155 USD). ROW
• Energy Spectrum Partners VI  (999 USD). US
• Hg Renewable Power Partners Fund II 542 GBP).  Europe
• Saratoga Asia Fund III  (600 USD).  Asia
• African Infrastructure Investment Fund II  (500 USD). ROW