Infratil manager Morrison recently told investors in the New Zealand stock exchange-listed company that global infrastructure deal activity reached a new low in 2023.
In the June quarter of last year, about US$56 billion ($90.8b) in infrastructure deals were struck, falling from US$111b in the same quarter in 2022, while infrastructure sector capital raising dropped about 50 per cent in 2023.
Unlisted infrastructure funds had had similar dynamics, with a 73 per cent fall in capital distributed between 2022 and 2023, it said.
Despite a constrained deal flow and less money raised, Infratil’s manager laid out the case for investing in infrastructure, pointing to its returns (about 18 per cent annualised return over 29 years), with about US$24b in assets under management.
In the short term, Morrison told investors at Infratil’s 2024 investor day, “Private markets were holding their breath.” Dealmaking and distributions slowed in 2023, it said, but pressure was building and “more benign macro conditions [are] forecast”.
