One of the world's largest infrastructure investors, CPPIB, is turning to private capital groups to secure megadeals. The Canadian pension fund has built almost $80bn in energy and infrastructure exposure through direct investments but recently started backing funds managed by Blackstone, KKR, and EQT. "Infrastructure deals are becoming increasingly large," said James Bryce, head of infrastructure at CPPIB, explaining that partnerships unlock opportunities neither could chase alone.

This shift highlights the sector's transformation from a pension-dominated backwater to a core strategy for private capital giants. Deal sizes are surging, driven by AI and energy security themes. Recent megadeals include BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners acquiring Aligned Data Centres and AES for $40bn and $33bn respectively. Last year saw record infrastructure fundraising of $200bn, per McKinsey.

GIP, now owned by BlackRock, manages $170bn and raised a $25bn fund. KKR's latest infrastructure fund secured $19bn, while Blackstone's open-ended vehicle manages roughly $75bn. CPPIB will still invest directly but has committed €500mn to EQT's €22bn flagship fund and $750mn to KKR's equivalent, plus pledges to Blackstone's funds.