The new function will oversee direct investments made alongside AMP Capital’s infrastructure equity funds, including consortium management, negotiation and pricing, deal syndications, fund co-investments and separate accounts, focussing on delivering attractive investment solutions and supporting investors to achieve their goals.

AMP Capital has appointed Dylan Foo as Global Head of Direct Investments, to oversee the new global function as it grows this strategic pillar of its business. Mr Foo is currently Partner and Head of Infrastructure Equity, Americas, overseeing origination, execution and asset management of infrastructure investments in the region. He will continue in his existing role, supported by the Americas team across offices in New York, Chicago and Orange County, in addition to his new responsibilities.

Patsy Sandys, an Associate Director on the Infrastructure Equity team in London, will lead the Direct Investments desk in Europe, reporting to Mr Foo.

Commenting on the appointments, Boe Pahari, Global Head of Infrastructure Equity, AMP Capital said: “We are focussed on delivering excellent client service, providing solutions, and embracing innovation in the evolving infrastructure investment landscape. As talented investment professionals, Dylan and Patsy are well positioned to find and develop the right opportunities for our larger institutional clients who are keen to add direct infrastructure investments to their portfolios.

“Infrastructure offers investment characteristics that are attractive to most institutional investors – predictable cashflows, attractive yields, defensive characteristics, long investment periods and liability-matching potential. It is therefore of little surprise that institutions are growing their allocations to infrastructure and increasingly seeking to benefit directly from the performance of assets that suit their investment strategy.

“As demand for the asset class continues to grow, the competitive market has pushed up prices and is compressing yields, so investing selectively is crucial. Making prudent investments and ensuring the sustainability and profitability of infrastructure assets requires specialist sector expertise, origination skills and active management, and we see investment managers who have demonstrated these strengths increasingly partnering with institutional investors in direct investments.

“Having established ourselves as a global mid-market sector specialist, supported by a number of landmark deals across multiple geographies, we understand how important it is for our large clients to increase their access to these opportunities, and their desire to partner with us is testament to the confidence in our investment strategy, our team, and our track record.”

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Dylan Foo

Global investment manager AMP Capital has entered into a 50/50 partnership with Invenergy Clean Power LLC (“ICP”) to invest in Invenergy’s operating and development portfolio of natural gas-fired power generation facilities across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The investment provides AMP Capital access to one of the largest privately-held gas-fired generation portfolios in the US and a rare opportunity to invest in a low-emissions generation fleet with scale. The operating and development projects are diversified across multiple North American power markets, contract counterparties, and technologies.

AMP Capital and ICP will share joint ownership and governance of the new partnership, Invenergy AMPCI Thermal Power Holdings LLC (‘the portfolio’), while ICP will maintain day-to-day management of the business. ICP is an affiliate of Invenergy LLC (“Invenergy”), an independent Chicago-based developer, owner and operator of power generation facilities internationally. In addition to its extensive renewables platform, the Invenergy management team has built and developed nearly 12,000 megawatts (MW) of thermal facilities over the past three decades.

The portfolio is comprised of seven operating plants with net capacity of 2,680 MW in the US and Canada, one facility under construction in Pennsylvania, and two late-stage development projects in Mexico. It also includes an extensive early to mid-stage development pipeline in the US and Mexico.

Dylan Foo, Partner & Head of Americas Infrastructure Equity at AMP Capital, said: “This transaction represents a unique opportunity to invest in the North American power sector via a diversified portfolio, partnering with a premier developer and operator of power generation assets on a 50/50 basis.

“The investment offers an excellent entry point into a highly attractive sector, due to the calibre of Invenergy, the quality and diversification of the portfolio, and the growth prospects of the development platform.”

The portfolio investment has been made on behalf of investors in AMP Capital’s global infrastructure equity strategy. AMP Capital’s US infrastructure equity investments include Midwest fibre optics provider Everstream, the intermodal logistics company ITS ConGlobal, Chicago’s Millennium Garages, and Capistrano Wind Partners. AMP Capital currently has more 40 employees based in offices in New York, Chicago and Orange County, California.

Simon Ellis, Partner & Global Head of Origination, Infrastructure Equity at AMP Capital, said: “AMP Capital is growing its presence in the North American infrastructure market and we are delighted to have secured this opportunity on behalf of our clients around the world. We look forward to leveraging our energy investment and asset management experience and collaborating with Invenergy to realize the maximum value of the portfolio.”

Jim Murphy, President and Chief Operating Officer at Invenergy, said: “Invenergy has created a world-class platform for the development and operations of clean energy projects. AMP Capital shares a longer-term perspective and brings financial strength to our business, positioning our project portfolio for years of continued growth.”

RBC Capital Markets acted as sole financial advisor for AMP Capital. Goldman, Sachs & Co acted as lead financial advisor along with Credit Suisse for Invenergy. Legal advisors were White & Case for AMP Capital and Latham & Watkins LLP for Invenergy.

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