Singapore-listed asset manager Keppel is seeking to raise over $2.7 billion across its three funds dedicated to private credit, social infrastructure, and data centres this year, according to DealStreetAsia’s estimates based on information shared in its first quarterly update on Thursday.
Keppel plans to raise around $800 million for the third instalment of its private credit series, doubling the size of its predecessor fund which is managed by Keppel Credit (formerly Pierfront Capital). The second fund, which is now over 50% deployed, has seen some exits whose divestment proceeds have been reinvested, said Keppel’s group CIO Christina Tan in a call with reporters and analysts.
“Given the volatility in the global market, the banks are having a harder time looking at refinancing. A lot of platforms, businesses, different structured projects, sponsors, as well as large-cap companies are looking for mezzanine loans to help them ensure that their projects are able to be financed,” Tan commented on the current tailwinds underpinning private credit investments.
The company also shared that it is targeting around $800 million to $1 billion for the second vintage of its Keppel Education Asset Fund (KEAF), also hoping to double the size of the precursor fund that was launched in 2020.
The debut instalment of the Asia-Pacific-focused fund family gathered over half of its $500-million target in 2020. The vehicle most recently purchased a purpose-built campus and seven-storey commercial building for a total of A$198 million (approximately S$175 million) in October. The money manager has also partially divested an asset in Japan which was invested through the fund, shared Keppel’s CEO Chin Hua Loh in the call.
“There’s a lot of interest by LPs and investors in the so-called social infrastructure assets. They are attracted by the long leases, sometimes 10-15 years,” said the Keppel boss.
The two new funds will concurrently be in the fundraising market as the 2022-vintage Keppel Core Infrastructure Fund and Keppel’s third data centre fund which is slated to be launched this year. While the target of the fund was not mentioned, the group expects the fund size to be significantly larger than than the previous vintage.
The fresh capital-raising plan for its data centre strategy comes about two years after the $1.1-billion final close of Keppel Data Centre Fund II, which received a $100-million commitment from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2022. The fund last month announced a framework agreement with Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan for the proposed forward purchase of a data centre in Tokyo, which is set to be Keppel’s first data centre project in the country upon completion.
In the first three months of 2024, Keppel garnered S$88 million in asset management fees, which rose 52% year-on-year thanks to higher contributions from its holdings in infrastructure, real estate, and connectivity.
The group raised about S$436 million in equity and completed about S$1.1 billion in acquisitions and divestments. The total equity raised in the first quarter includes the first close of its China-focused Sustainable Urban Renewal (SUR) strategy that received 1.6 billion yuan (about $218 million) in commitments, while a half-stake acquisition of Aermont Capital for 356.9 million euros ($388 million) was among its notable transactions in the period.
“Keppel is working towards completing this acquisition by the end of April 2024, which would see the company’s funds under management (FUM) grow to about S$79 billion, or close to 80% of its interim FUM target of S$100 billion by 2026,” it added in a statement.
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