The $40 billion global investment firm Investcorp now has a North American infrastructure platform with the hiring of Michael Ryder, who left OMERS’ New York private markets office last year.
Ryder has joined Investcorp as a senior adviser to lead the infrastructure business. During his tenure at the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System, he was responsible for the deployment of almost $4 billion of equity in the renewable power, regulated utilities, midstream and government services sectors. He led the teams responsible for all stages of the investment lifecycle from transaction origination, structuring and execution, asset management and value creation, through to successful exits. Previously, Ryder held leadership positions at Morgan Stanley and Blackstone.
“The launch of Investcorp’s North America infrastructure business builds upon our long history of success investing in private alternatives on behalf of our global client base, leveraging our strong and established experience in real estate and private equity. Infrastructure is a critical focus area as we see increased activity to upgrade the region’s aging infrastructure,” said Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp. “This initiative will expand our range of capabilities, generate additional value for our clients and stakeholders and lead us steadily forward in our growth strategy. We are deeply impressed with Michael’s extensive experience and knowledge of the infrastructure space and look forward to welcoming him to our team.”
Investcorp’s initial foray into infrastructure investment business was in the Gulf Cooperation Council region in 2019 through a strategic joint venture with Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI). The JV utilizes Investcorp’s extensive investment expertise and market reach in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and ASI’s strong track record of investing in 120 social infrastructure projects during the past 20 years.
The new platform applies the firm’s global expertise and track record in real estate and private equity to make investments in critical infrastructure companies and projects across North America.