Final close on a thematic infrastructure fund is due soon after the manager doubled allocations in less than a year, meaning it will hit its hard cap.

The Eurazeo Smart City II Venture had raised €150 million ($147m) in January, but is now set to hold a final close at €300 million this quarter (Q4).

This figure is higher than the original hard cap of €275 million, but a source told IJGlobal that existing LPs had consented to raise the hard cap owing to the success of the fundraise.

In addition to other mandates associated with the fund, the available capital pool for the vehicle is in excess of €400 million.

Smart City II attracted investments from all across Europe, with a strong showing in France and Germany, in addition to Asian backers from Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Thailand. It received backing from Blue Chip companies from Fortune 500 companies, and sovereign funds, as well as insurance companies and pension funds.

A source said that the fund may have access to market intelligence and expertise from the Blue Chip companies.

The fund’s investment activity is focused on 5 verticals concentrated on sectors most relevant to facilitate a transition to a global low-carbon economy:

• green energy
• green mobility
• logistics (first mile / last mile)
• property tech / buildings
• industrial tech

IRR on the VC-style vehicle is around 25%.

Among the investments to date for Smart City II Venture are:

• Electra (urban EV charging) – France
• Pyxo (reusable packaging) – France
• Witco (app-based property management services) – France
• Cubyn (alternative end-to-end supply chain services for e-merchants) – France
• Dance (e-bike sharing) – Germany
• Vay (car-sharing provider, teledriven vehicles) – Germany

The fund launched in February 2021, with an initial closing at €80 million and a €200 million hard cap. Investors comprise of both institutional and corporate entities, including:

• EIF – European Investment Fund
• SWK – Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern, Germany
• KVIC – Korean Venture Investment Corporation
• SMRT – Singapore Mass Rapid Transit
• Siam Cement Group
• EDF
• Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens
• Total
• PRO BTP
• Duisburger Hafen
• Mainova
• Stellantis
• Sansiri

The fund’s predecessor, Smart City I Venture Fund, has made 25 investments globally, including Spanish last-mile logistics specialist Glovo, American EV charging networks Volta, and Chinese autonomous mobility pioneer Weride.