Cologix Buyer Stonepeak Said to Seek $5B for Infrastructure Deals

Melissa Mittelman (Bloomberg) -- Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, the firm founded by former Blackstone Group LP executives, is targeting $5 billion for its next fund, according to people familiar with the matter.

Stonepeak is collecting money just a year after it finished raising its second pool, which got $3.5 billion in six months from 2015 to 2016. A representative of the New York-based firm declined to comment on fundraising.

Stonepeak, which invests in mid-sized infrastructure deals in North America, last year deployed money in energy infrastructure company Sage Midstream Ventures and a liquefied natural gas venture called Golar Power Ltd. Stonepeak acquired Cologix Inc., a data center operator, last month.

Infrastructure funds have gained renewed attention as President Donald Trump vows to direct more private money toward improving roads, bridges and airports. The asset class also fits the bill for liability-driven investors in the U.S. and abroad seeking current income amid near-zero or negative yields in fixed income elsewhere.

Infrastructure deals hit a record $413 billion worldwide last year, according to research firm Preqin, and managers such as Global Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. raised unprecedented pools of capital for their infrastructure strategies in 2016. Blackstone, the world’s biggest alternative-asset manager, would target as much as $40 billion for infrastructure if it re-enters the strategy, Joe Baratta, the firm’s global head of private equity, said in January.

Stonepeak was started in 2011 by Mike Dorrell and Trent Vichie, who previously co-led Blackstone’s infrastructure push. Stonepeak’s first fund closed on $1.65 billion in 2013. The firm oversaw $7.3 billion as of Dec. 31, according to its website.