Singapore's Temasek and money manager BlackRock are partnering to offer investors late-stage venture capital and early growth private equity investment funds focused on decarbonization solutions, with the aim of accelerating progress toward a net-zero global economy by 2050.
In a joint news release Tuesday, Temasek, the Singapore government investment firm with S$306 billion ($214.6 billion) in assets as of March 31, 2020, and BlackRock, the New York-based money management giant, said they'll commit a combined $600 million in multiple funds while raising third-party capital from investors "committed to achieving a net-zero world while also seeking to obtain long-term sustainable financial returns."
A BlackRock spokeswoman declined to say what portion of that $600 billion in commitments each partner will contribute.
The first fund from the partnership, Decarbonization Partners, will look to raise $1 billion, including capital from Temasek and BlackRock. It is a 50-50 partnership between the two, a Temasek spokesman said.
The partnership will "help define climate solutions as a stand-alone asset class that is both essential to our collective mission and a historic investment opportunity created by the net-zero transition," Larry Fink, BlackRock's chairman and CEO, said in the news release.
The partnership's funds will "focus on early stage growth companies targeting proven, next-generation renewable and mobility technology including emerging fuel sources, grid solutions, battery storage, and electric and autonomous vehicle technologies as well as in building and manufacturing sectors to drive decarbonization, resource efficiencies, and material and process innovation," the news release said.
The BlackRock spokeswoman said both partners plan to provide employees to support the operation but BlackRock is to be appointed as investment manager and run the funds day to day. The assisting employees will join "a professional and dedicated team recruited to source and undertake investments and manage its portfolio," the news release said.
"We intend to hire talent with scientific and engineering capability given the deep technical knowledge this specialized assets class requires," the spokeswoman added.
The spokeswoman called the partnership "an extension of our alternatives capabilities."
