Woori, ABL Life commit to Rubicon’s infrastructure debt fund

South Korea’s Woori Global Asset Management Co. and ABL Life Insurance Co. have committed a sizeable amount of capital to a first closing of a sustainable infrastructure fund managed by Ireland-based Rubicon Capital Advisors Ltd., according to a press release on Wednesday.

In the first closing, Rubicon secured nearly 20% of the fund, which targets €400 million-€500 million ($430.6 million to $538.2 million). The 10-year fund aims for a 10%-12% internal rate of return (IRR), sources familiar with the matter told The Korea Economic Daily.

Woori Global Asset Management and ABL Life are the only two Korean institutional investors involved in the first closing. The sources did not disclose their commitment sizes.

Rubicon aims to hold the final closing within two years, with a possibility of moving the schedule forward, sources added.

The fund’s target sectors include traditional transportation, energy transition, and social and healthcare infrastructure based on public-private partnerships. Rubicon will use the fund for junior debts in mid-cap investment, ranging from €10 million to €50 million, across Europe and North America.

Rubicon is the world’s leading investment banking firm specializing in the infrastructure, energy transition, digital and utilities sectors. Since its founding in 2011, it has closed on the sale, acquisition or refinancing of more than 150 assets across the globe with a combined enterprise value of over $85 billion.

Woori Global Asset Management is an investment arm of Korea’s Woori Financial Group and manages 8.3 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in assets as of January 2023.

ABL, the Korean unit of China’s Dajia Insurance Group, manages more than 16 trillion won in assets including 3 trillion won for alternative investments. The company ranked No. 1 among insurers in Korea last year by investment performance, scoring a 4.1% return.

Write to Jihyun Kim at snowy@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.