(Bloomberg) -- GI Partners, an investment firm known for its focus on private equity and real estate, plans to launch a digital infrastructure fund that will invest in assets such as data centers, according to people with knowledge of the strategy.
The firm is seeking more than $1 billion for the fund, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn't public. A GI Partners representative didn't immediately have a comment.
GI has made key appointments to lead the new effort, the people said. The San Francisco-based firm hired Mark Prybutok, a former partner at Alinda Capital Partners, in July as a managing director. A month earlier, GI hired Steve Smith, the former chief executive officer of data center company Equinix Inc. who resigned in January after “exercising poor judgment with respect to an employee matter.”
GI, founded by Rick Magnuson, is entering a crowded space. Other private equity, infrastructure and real estate firms dabble in digital infrastructure deals, as do specialist managers such as Digital Bridge Holdings and IPI Partners, the data center-focused firm that's backed by Iron Point Partners and Iconiq Capital.
Read More: GI Partners Is Said to Consider Selling a Minority Stake
To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net, Josh Friedman, Dan Reichl
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