Ardian, one of the world’s leading private investment firms, announced it has raised $20 billion for its latest flagship infrastructure platform, marking the firm’s largest infrastructure raise to date. The platform consists of Ardian Infrastructure Fund VI (AIF VI), which reached its hard cap of $13.5 billion (€11.5 billion), alongside substantial co-investment commitments.
The fund’s close represents a 90% increase in size compared to its predecessor, underscoring strong investor confidence in Ardian’s differentiated strategy and long-term track record in essential infrastructure.
The fundraising comes despite a challenging fundraising environment and establishes AIF VI as one of the largest dedicated European infrastructure vehicles in the market. Ardian achieved the close in just two years—half the time of many peers—reflecting both robust demand and the enduring appeal of the European infrastructure asset class.
The fund attracted commitments from 229 institutional investors across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Investor participation from the United States more than doubled compared to the prior fund, now representing 14% of total commitments. Investors from the APAC region contributed 32%, including several major Australian institutions investing for the first time.
The success of AIF VI reinforces Ardian’s role as a global leader in essential infrastructure, continuing its 20-year strategy of combining deep industrial expertise with disciplined investment execution. The fund will target assets across three verticals critical to Europe’s competitiveness and sustainability: energy, transport, and digital infrastructure. Ardian’s platform now manages $47 billion in infrastructure assets, covering both European and American essential infrastructure markets, as well as thematic funds focused on the energy transition.
AIF VI has already deployed more than 40% of its capital in a series of landmark investments, including a stake in London Heathrow Airport, where Ardian is the largest shareholder, and the joint indirect acquisition of Venice Airport with Finint Infrastrutture. Other significant investments include:
- Verne, a UK-based data center platform powered entirely by decarbonized energy.
- Attero, a European waste management and circular economy leader developing one of the continent’s largest carbon capture and storage projects.
- Akuo, a pioneer in renewable energy with 1.9 GW of installed capacity across Europe.
- Energia Group, a leading energy utility serving nearly 900,000 homes and businesses across Ireland.
Ardian’s infrastructure team of 80 investment professionals operates with a multi-local approach, supported by proprietary data and technology platforms such as OPTA, which optimizes wind asset performance, and AirCarbon, which measures and reduces aviation-related emissions. This data-driven framework enhances operational performance while ensuring sustainability and resilience across the portfolio.
The rapid closing of AIF VI highlights the growing appeal of infrastructure as an asset class that delivers consistent, uncorrelated returns amid market volatility. And the fund’s diversified investor base and global scale position Ardian to continue shaping Europe’s energy, transport, and digital transformation for decades to come.
KEY QUOTES:
“More than ever, clients expect from us high absolute returns decorrelated from financial markets. Amid Ardian’s continued strong performance, this milestone fundraise reflects the success of our differentiated strategy that we have applied consistently since inception 20 years ago. We have expanded into new geographies while maintaining a clear and selective focus on essential and capital-intensive assets in three key sectors: energy, transport, and digital infrastructure. Our asset management approach is precise—value creation must come from operational improvement, not market cycles. In a market that rewards clarity and conviction, our approach has stood the test of time, and our strategy remains consistent, differentiated and rooted in a long-term view to create value.”
Mathias Burghardt, Executive Vice-President, CEO of Ardian France, and Head of Infrastructure, Ardian
“The scale and speed of this fundraise highlight not only the market-leading position of Ardian’s Infrastructure team but also the attractiveness of the asset class, offering resilience in a world that is anything but predictable. We continue to see strong confidence around the world, particularly in European infrastructure as a standout asset class, with a notable increase in interest among investors outside of Europe, especially the U.S. and APAC. Investors that have a track record of applying industry expertise to deliver value creation are winning in this environment. We would like to thank our investors for their continued support and new LPs for their trust, which has allowed us to more than double the size of our platform.”
Jan Philip Schmitz, Executive Vice-President and Head of Investor Relations, Ardian
