I Squared Capital

I Squared Capital
Company typePrivate
IndustryPrivate equity
Founded2012
Founders
Headquarters
Miami, Florida
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Sadek Wahba
  • (Managing partner)
  • Gautam Bhandari
ProductsInfrastructure
AUMUS$ 40 billion
(November 2024)
Number of employees
300 (January 2025)
Websiteisquaredcapital.com

I Squared Capital is a private equity firm focusing on global infrastructure investments. The company invests in energy, utilities, transport and telecom projects in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. As of November 2024, I Squared Capital controls more than $40 billion in assets under management.

History

[edit]

I Squared Capital was founded in 2012 by former senior executives at Morgan Stanley, including Sadek Wahba, Adil Rahmathulla, and Gautam Bhandari.[1] In 2015, the firm closed its first fund, ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund LP, with $3 billion in total commitments with investments from the Rhode Island State Investment Commission, the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, and Mitsubishi Corporation.[2] As of June 2018, the firm's first fund had delivered 23 percent in gross annualized returns.[1]

Originally headquartered in New York, the firm relocated to Miami in 2018.[3] In September 2018, I Squared Capital also announced the closing of its ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund II after raising US$7 billion, exceeding an initial target for the fund of US$5 billion.[1] In April 2022, I Squared closed on ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III LP at $15.5 billion.[4][5]

In December 2023, Blue Owl Capital acquired a greater stake in I Squared by acquiring a portion of co-founder Rahmathulla's stake in the firm.[6] As of November 2024, I Squared Capital has $40 billion in assets under management.[5] As of January 2025, the firm employed 300 people.[7]

Investments

[edit]

In December 2014, I Squared bought out the Jaipur Mahua Tollways, a 109-kilometer (68 mi) road project on National Highway 11 in Rajasthan, India.[8] In 2014, I Squared partnered with Enduring Hydro to form Cube Hydro Partners.[9] Through Cube Hydro, I Squared made a number of investments in the hydro-electric power industry. In February 2015, the firm acquired 10 run-of-the-river hydroelectricity plants located in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia,[10][11] By July 2016, the firm controlled 14 hydroelectric power facilities in the US and, following subsequent acquisitions during this period, operated a total of 19 facilities located on 10 rivers in 5 states.[12]

I Squared has also invested in other sectors of the energy industry. In August 2015, the firm invested US$150 million into Amplus Energy Solutions Private Limited, an Indian rooftop solar power company.[13] In December 2015, I Squared purchased the 220 mi (350 km) pipeline gathering system owned by WPX Energy in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico. The purchase price was reported to be US$285 million.[14] In January 2016, I Squared acquired Lincoln Clean Energy which develops and operates wind farms across North America, including two in Texas.[15] The firm sold Lincoln Clean Energy to Ørsted for $580 million in August 2018.[16]

In March 2016, I Squared bought the Irish power company Viridian for about one billion euros. Viridian provides about 20% of the power to Ireland through gas-fired power stations and wind farms.[17] In October 2016, I Squared Capital agreed to acquire Duke Energy's hydroelectric and natural gas business in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Argentina for US$1.2 billion.[18][19]

I Squared has made a number of investments in telecommunications infrastructure. In August 2017, the firm acquired the fixed-line phone business Hutchison Global Communications from Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Telecommunications for $14.5 billion Hong Kong Dollars ($1.86bn USD). Hutchison Global Communications operates a fiber-optic network that consists of over 1,400,000 km (870,000 mi) of cable and a WiFi network that includes over 25,000 hot-spots.[20]

In October 2020, I Squared agreed to buy the infrastructure division of GTT Communications for US$2.15 billion.[21] The acquisition included the submarine fiber network, data center infrastructure and services of GTT Communications in Europe and North America.[22] In 2021, I Squared spun out of the assets acquired from GTT Communications as EXA Infrastructure, a standalone company based in London which, at the time, controlled 103,000 km (64,000 mi) of fiber optic cable and eight subsea cables, connecting 300 cities and 14 data centers.[23]

In March 2021, I Squared Capital announced that its £2.3 billion ($3.4 billion) joint bid with TDR Capital to acquire the British mobile power company Aggreko was accepted.[24][25] In May 2023, I Squared acquired Rentco Transport Equipment Rentals, an Australian truck and trailer leading company.[26] In October 2023, I Squared Capital reached a deal with Deutsche Bahn to acquire UK transportation company Arriva.[27] The transaction was completed in June 2024 following ratification of the deal by the European Commission.[28]

In January 2024, I Squared bought 49% of Órigo Energia, a Brazilian renewable energy company which builds and operates solar farms near cities.[29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Tan, Gillian (September 4, 2018). "I Squared Raises $7 Billion for Infrastructure Investments". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  2. ^ "I Squared Closes Debut Infrastructure Fund With $3B". The Wall Street Journal. April 20, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  3. ^ Martinez, Amy (August 31, 2021). "Miami startups: How they stack up". Florida Trend. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  4. ^ Kreutzer, Laura; Singh, Preeti (April 12, 2022). "Thomas Lefebvre Resigns From Partner Role at I Squared Capital". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Warner, Kelsey (November 26, 2024). "I Squared Capital eyes Abu Dhabi expansion". Semafor. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  6. ^ Tan, Gillian (December 14, 2023). "Blue Owl Lifts Stake in Infrastructure Firm I Squared Capital". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  7. ^ Lucchesi, Cristiane (January 24, 2025). "AI Fuels Surge in Private Latin America Infrastructure Bets". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  8. ^ "I Squared Capital buys out Jaipur Mahua Tollways". The Economic Times. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. ^ "PE Daily: Arlington Capital Raises $1.7 Billion – Joerns Healthcare Files for Bankruptcy". The Wall Street Journal. June 26, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  10. ^ Gough, Paul (February 24, 2015). "Private equity firm buys Allegheny River hydropower facilities". Pittsburgh Business Times. American City Business Journals. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  11. ^ "I Squared Capital's Cube Hydro Buys 10 Facilities From LS Power's Harbor Hydro". The Wall Street Journal. February 24, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  12. ^ Wineka, Mark (July 11, 2016). "Cube Hydro will buy Yadkin River power plants, including High Rock dam, from Alcoa". Salisbury Post. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  13. ^ Bhaskar, Utpal. "I Squared Capital to invest $150 million in Amplus Energy". livemint. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  14. ^ Fenton, James (January 8, 2016). "WPX sells its San Juan Basin pipeline system". El Paso Times. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  15. ^ Weston, David (January 14, 2016). "I Squared Capital acquires US developer". Wind Power Monthly. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  16. ^ Jensen, Teis (August 9, 2018). "Danish energy group Orsted buys U.S. onshore wind developer". Reuters.
  17. ^ Campbell, Peter (March 29, 2016). "I Squared targets UK after Viridian deal". Financial Times. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  18. ^ Chediak, Mark (October 10, 2016). "Duke Energy Leaving Latin America Through $1.6 Billion in Deals". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  19. ^ Peralta, Katherine (October 10, 2016). "Duke Energy reaches deals to sell Latin American businesses". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  20. ^ Massoudi, Arash (July 30, 2017). "LiKa-shing agrees $2bn Hutchinson fixed-line business sale". Financial Times. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  21. ^ Kilgore, Tomi (October 16, 2020). "GTT Communications stock spikes higher after $2.15 billion deal to sell its infrastructure division". Market Watch. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  22. ^ Seal, Thomas; Tan, Gillian (October 16, 2020). "GTT Sells Infrastructure Unit to I Squared for $2.15 Billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  23. ^ Fildes, Nic (September 17, 2021). "I Squared Capital creates transatlantic telecoms network company". Financial Times. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  24. ^ Ralph, Oliver; Pfeifer, Sylvia (March 5, 2021). "Power supplier Aggreko accepts £2.3bn private equity bid". Financial Times. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  25. ^ Nair, Dinesh; Gopinath, Swetha; Gould, Ryan (September 18, 2024). "TDR, I Squared Capital Said to Consider $10 Billion Aggreko Exit". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  26. ^ Tan, Gillian (May 2, 2023). "I Squared Agrees to Acquire Australian Trailer Leaser Rentco". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  27. ^ "Arriva: Deutsche Bahn trennt sich von Auslandstochter". Der Spiegel (in German). October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  28. ^ Simmons, Mark (June 4, 2024). "DB completes sale of Arriva". International Railway Journal. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  29. ^ Hirata, Taís (January 8, 2024). "I Squared buys 49% of Órigo Energia". Valor International. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
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