US-based I Squared Capital has agreed to deploy up to $2 billion in real estate and infrastructure assets owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and its portfolio companies.
PIF and I Squared will identify companies within the Saudi Wealth Fund’s portfolio in the digital infrastructure and district cooling sectors, with I Squared allocating up to $1 billion to each of these areas, with options to expand across additional related business themes.
The companies said the collaboration is expected to “accelerate project delivery and increase third-party capital contributions to opportunities across the portfolio.”
I Squared is an independent infrastructure investment manager that invests in a wide range of sectors including energy infrastructure, utilities, transport and logistics, and digital infrastructure.
PIF, which manages nearly $1.15 trillion in assets, has committed significant capital to building data centers in the Kingdom. In May, Reuters reported that PIF-backed artificial intelligence company Humane had ordered Goldman Sachs to advise on a financing package to build data centers worth 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) in Saudi Arabia.
Regional cooling and data center consolidation have become essential to expanding the region’s digital infrastructure in the race to drive economic transformation in the Gulf.
(Written by Bindu Rai; Edited by Brinda Darasha)
bindingu.rai@lseg.com
