ADIA-backed NIIF to seek $4 bn for infrastructure in largest-ever fundraise

By Preeti Singh and Ruchi Bhatia

India’s quasi-sovereign fund plans to seek about $4 billion in its largest-ever fundraise, according to people with knowledge of the matter, amid the government’s drive to upgrade infrastructure across the country.
 

The National Investment & Infrastructure Fund, backed by the Indian government and several global investors, is looking to raise money early next year, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. 

The new fund would be much larger than the predecessor Master Fund that closed in December 2020 with $2.34 billion, and would mark a restart of activities under a new chief executive officer. NIIF is also raising capital for its private markets fund, and will consider a new private equity fund after the infrastructure fundraise, one of the people said. 

The firm underwent a rough patch with its biggest shareholder the Indian government over resource allocation and direction, Bloomberg earlier reported. It searched for a new leader after its previous chief prematurely stepped down in 2022, and brought on board infrastructure veteran Sanjiv Aggarwal in February to lead the firm, which manages more than $4.9 billion of assets. 

Spokespeople for NIIF and the finance ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

Other NIIF backers include heavyweights Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, AustralianSuper and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. Indian lenders HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd. are also investors. NIIF expects to collect more capital as co-investment commitments from its backers in this fundraise, according to one of the people familiar.  

NIIF has four funds across different asset classes. The Master Fund is the largest that invests in infrastructure. The other funds include a private markets fund, a strategic opportunities fund that takes direct stakes in companies, and an India-Japan private equity fund focused on environment preservation. 

The Master Fund recently invested in iBUS Network and Infrastructure Pvt, an infrastructure solutions company. Other investments include renewable energy platform Ayana Renewable Power Pvt and IntelliSmart Infrastructure Pvt, a smart meter platform. The Master Fund is also an owner in Athaang Infrastructure Pvt, which is looking to sell some toll road assets, Bloomberg News reported.