The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), one of the largest pension funds in the world, has made an additional commitment of ₹3.6 billion (about $44 million) to the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
In a statement, CPP Investments said the latest commitment follows an initial $187 million investment in NHAI InvIT’s IPO in November 2021. The Canadian pension fund will continue to own 25% of NHAI’s shares. Invite. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board also owns 25% of the trust.
InvITs are collective investment vehicles similar to mutual funds, which allow direct monetary investment by individual and institutional investors in infrastructure projects that earn them a small portion of the revenue in return.
The proceeds from the institutional placement will be used to acquire three brownfield toll roads currently owned by NHAI, a statutory authority established in 1988 by an Act of Parliament of India and responsible for the development, maintenance and management of national highways in India.
According to the announcement, the acquisition will increase NHAI InvIT’s portfolio from five to eight toll roads, which span approximately 636 km across seven Indian states – Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
CPP Investments Managing Director and Global Head of Infrastructure Scott Lawrence said institutional capital will continue to play a significant role in meeting India’s infrastructure investment needs. “This follow-on investment further reinforces our commitment to the NHAI InvIT platform to acquire highway projects across the country,” Lawrence said.
CPP Investments manages the funds of 21 million contributors and beneficiaries of the Canada Pension Plan.
In Asia, including China and India, the pension fund made a total of at least $404 million in private equity commitments in the second quarter of this year, according to its latest report.
During the April-June quarter, CPP Investments committed a $120 million co-investment alongside CVC Capital in Sajjan India Limited, a specialty agrochemical manufacturer in India, for up to a 17% stake . It has also committed $100 million to Trustar Capital V, the latest fund from Trustar Capital Partners, which focuses on control-oriented buyouts in Greater China.
CPP Investments has further committed to a $50 million co-investment alongside Multiples in Acko Tech & Services, India’s retail-focused digital insurance platform, and an additional $34 million to Kogta Financial Limited, a non-bank financial company in India, for a stake of approximately 9%.
The pension fund also closed a $35 million co-investment alongside CVC Capital in gaming hardware maker Razer Inc, which was delisted in May.
In addition to private equity commitments to Asian funds and companies during the quarter, CPP Investments also closed a total commitment of $333 million for Sequoia Capital’s 2022 fundraising round, which includes commitments to Sequoia funds. China and the Sequoia India/Southeast Asia funds.
It has also committed $150 million to NewQuest Capital Partners’ NewQuest Asia Fund V. NewQuest’s funds primarily target companies in emerging Asia.
Private equity commitments to Asian funds and companies came even as CPP Investments posted a negative return of 4.2% in the April-June quarter, due to losses in equity strategies. due to the general decline in global stock markets.
