inspiratia's top infrastructure news of 2021
Which news pieces drew the most attention in 2021? inspiratia reviews the top infrastructure news pieces last year
The major news stories in the infrastructure sector in 2021 involved large-scale initiatives launched by governments as they seek to support the economic recovery from the pandemic and ensure greater resilience against climate change and the related challenges.
At the same time, the private sector has scaled up financing pledges across the infrastructure space. In particular, digital infrastructure has continued to gather pace with more dedicated programmes and funds focused on datacentres and fibre networks.
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1. EQT Infrastructure V hits €12.5bn target at first close
10 March: EQT has hit first close at around €12.5 billion (£10.7bn US$14.8bn) for its fifth infrastructure fund. With the haul for first close, the Swedish fund manager has already reached its initial target for its latest flagship infrastructure vehicle….read more
2. John Laing, KKR agree to £2bn takeover deal
19 May: John Laing and KKR have come to a takeover agreement at 403p per share, valuing John Laing at around £2 billion (€2.3bn US$2.8bn), with Equitix buying half its portfolio… read more
3. KKR, GIP announce US$15 billion acquisition of CyrusOne
17 November: Global asset managers KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have reached an agreement to purchase the entire outstanding shares of global data centre operator CyrusOne, in a major deal for the digital infrastructure sector… read more
4. UK launches £5bn rural gigabit programme
23 March: The UK government has launched a new £5 billion (€2.3bn US$2.7bn) programme to bring gigabit speeds to less-connected areas…read more
5. GIP, Blackstone team up for US$4.7bn Signature offer
05 February: Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Blackstone have come together to buy Signature Aviation after a bidding war… read more
6. Octopus Energy and RES to splash £3 billion on UK green hydrogen economy
15 October: Leading UK-based energy companies Octopus Energy and RES have pledged to jointly pour £3 billion (€3.5bn US$4bn) into the country's green hydrogen economy… read more
7. Brookfield raises US$7bn for new transition fund
28 July: Brookfield Asset Management has hit an initial milestone at US$7 billion (£5bn €5.9bn) for its new Brookfield Global Transition Fund (BGTF), its inaugural impact fund focused on the energy transition… read more
8. Triple Point launches £400m digital infra IPO
08 March: Triple Point has launched the £400 million (€464m US$553m) IPO for its new listed digital infrastructure fund… read more
9. Sacyr and Fininc awarded 25-year contract to build Italy's €2.7bn A3 highway
30 July: The SIS consortium, comprising Sacyr with a 49% stake and Fininc with the 51% majority, has signed a 25-year concession contract for the Naples-Pompeii-Salerno section of Italy's A3 highway… read more
10. UK government scraps HS2 extension but restates pledge to invest billions in rail
19 November: The Department for Transport has confirmed its, long-suspected, intention to scrap the Leeds extension of the high speed HS2 rail link…read more
