(Brookfield) Brookfield Asset Management has held a final close on US$7b on its Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II. Fund II will invest in infrastructure, with a focus on transportation, renewable power, utilities and energy assets in North and South America, Europe and Australasia. Brookfield beat its US$5b target for the fund.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (“Brookfield”) (NYSE:BAM) (TSX:BAM.A) (Euronext:BAMA), announced today that it held the final close on Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II (the “Fund”) with equity commitments totaling US$7 billion, creating a global fund that will invest in infrastructure, with a focus on transportation, renewable power, utilities, and energy assets in North and South America, Europe and Australasia.

Commitments to the Fund exceeded the original US$5 billion fundraising target, reflecting strong investor demand. Investors in the Fund include a diverse group of institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and public and private pension plans. The Fund has over 60 investors, half of which are first time investors in a Brookfield fund. Brookfield committed US$2.8 billion to the Fund, aligning its interests with those of its investors.

“We are pleased to launch this Fund at a time when we see strong opportunities to invest in high quality core infrastructure assets on an attractive risk-adjusted return basis,” said Sam Pollock, Senior Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield’s Infrastructure Group. “We believe real assets such as infrastructure are an important and growing component of institutional portfolios, and we see significant potential for investments in all the regions where we operate.”

The Fund will own and operate long-life infrastructure assets that generate stable cash flows, require relatively minimal capital expenditures and, by virtue of high barriers to entry and other characteristics, tend to appreciate in value over time. Brookfield’s capital commitment to the Fund is expected to be funded through Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP.

The Fund follows on the US$2.7 billion Brookfield Americas Infrastructure Fund LP, which closed in 2010.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a global alternative asset manager with over US$175 billion in assets under management. The company has over a 100-year history of owning and operating assets with a focus on property, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity. It has a range of public and private investment products and services, which leverage its expertise and experience and provide Brookfield with a competitive advantage in the markets where it operates. Brookfield is co-listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the symbol BAM and BAM.A, respectively, and on NYSE.