AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan have committed to invest up to $1 billion each in Indian infrastructure assets through the Mumbai-based National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, according to an NIIF announcement confirmed by the two big asset owners.
The A$165 billion ($112 billion) Melbourne-based AustralianSuper and C$191.1 billion ($144.7 billion) Toronto-based OTPP have signed agreements committing $250 million apiece to NIIF's Master Fund, with co-investment rights of up to $750 million each to invest alongside the fund.
In addition, both AustralianSuper and OTPP will become shareholders in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd., NIIF's investment management company.
The announcement offered no details on the size or cost of the stakes the two asset owners will take in NIIF Ltd. An AustralianSuper spokesman declined to comment, and OTPP didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A spokeswoman for NIIF couldn't immediately provide further details.
The Master Fund, one of three funds — with combined commitments of more than $3 billion — managed by NIIF, invests in mature brownfield infrastructure assets offering predictable, inflation-hedged cash flows, such as roads, ports and power plants.
The other funds NIIF oversees are a fund-of-funds strategy, investing in experienced infrastructure managers, and a strategic fund, focused on "growth and development stage investments," according to the NIIF website.
NIIF is an investor-owned fund manager, with the government of India as an anchor investor, working in tandem with other big global and domestic institutional investors.
The commitments by AustralianSuper and OTPP mark the Master Fund's third close. Other investors include the government of India, the $828 billion Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Singapore's S$313 billion ($227 billion) Temasek.
An NIIF news release Tuesday said the latest commitments by AustralianSuper and OTPP have made the NIIF Master Fund India's largest infrastructure fund, with $1.8 billion in assets under management and a co-investment pool of $2.5 billion.
The Master Fund has a tenure of 15 years and is denominated in Indian rupees.
