GI Data Infrastructure Fund closes with $1.8bn

San Francisco-based GI Partners announced the final closing of its inaugural Data Infrastructure Fund at $1.8 billion in commitments from a broad group of investors and overshot its original target of $1.25 billion. The fund is slated to invest across four key data infrastructure subsectors – data centers, data transport, wireless access, and tech-enabled infrastructure. The geographic focus for the strategy will primarily be North America. "Since founding Digital Realty in 2001, GI Partners has always believed in the fundamentals that drive the digital economy, which is now essential to our daily lives," said Rick Magnuson, founder and executive managing director of GI Partners. The offering builds on that history of investing in hard asset infrastructure companies and properties in relation to the digital economy. GI has raised over $23 billion in capital from global institutional investors to invest in private equity, real estate and data infrastructure strategies over two decades. The team managing the new fund works closely with the firm’s private equity and real estate teams and is led by Steve Smith, who was previously CEO of the world’s largest data center company Equinix, and Mark Prybutok, an experienced data infrastructure investor. "A core thesis of our Fund is to invest in elements of infrastructure closer to the end-user that will support both existing needs, as well as the next generation of critical applications utilizing 5G technology, private networks, the Internet of Things, machine learning, and other innovations," noted Prybutok. The fund was activated in January 2020 when it invested in DR Fortress, the premier data center business in Hawaii. In June 2020, the fund acquired Blue Stream Fiber, a high-speed broadband provider in Florida. GI Partners' other exited investments in the IT infrastructure sector include The Telx Group, The Planet, SoftLayer Technologies, ViaWest, and Wave Broadband. "Technology and communications are the largest and fastest growing drivers of the global economy and the infrastructure that supports these sectors is critical to the operation of every business, government, and household in the developed world," said Smith. "The disruption we have all experienced in 2020 due to the global pandemic has only served to underline the importance of data infrastructure to everyone's life." GI Data Infrastructure's diverse global investor base representing 11 countries includes sovereign wealth funds, pensions, financial institutions, investment management firms, foundations, and family offices. Park Hill Group served as placement agent and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel for the raise.

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