Brookfield Asset Management has raised $10 billion at the first close of its second Global Transition Fund. A first close is only the opening tranche of a fundraise, yet this one is already two thirds the size of the entire predecessor fund. One investor committed about a fifth of it two months before the announcement.
Key takeaways
- Brookfield Asset Management announced on 5 February 2024 that it had raised $10 billion at the first close of the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II (BGTF II), including both fund commitments and strategic capital from investors.
- Alterra Acceleration committed about $2 billion to Brookfield Global Transition Fund II on 1 December 2023, equal to roughly a fifth of the $10 billion first close.
- Brookfield's predecessor fund, BGTF I, closed at $15 billion in 2022, and BGTF II targets a larger final fundraise than its predecessor.
- The BGTF II seed portfolio includes a UK onshore renewables developer and a solar development partnership in India, and the fund can invest in renewable power, business transformation, carbon capture and storage, renewable natural gas and nuclear services.
- Among energy transition equity raises of $1 billion or more recorded by Enerdatics in 2024, only Antin Infrastructure Partners' $10.7 billion Fund V was larger than Brookfield's $10 billion BGTF II first close.
What is a first close, and why does its size matter?
A private fund rarely raises all its money at once. It holds a first close when enough commitments are signed to start investing, then keeps raising until a final close. The size of the first close is a signal to everyone else still deciding whether to commit.
That is why $10 billion stands out. BGTF I finished at $15 billion in 2022. Its successor has reached two thirds of that figure at the first milestone, with Brookfield aiming for a larger final total than last time. Investors still in diligence can see that the fund will reach scale whether or not they join.
The figure also bundles two kinds of money. Leap records that the first close includes both fund commitments, the standard pledges from limited partners, and strategic capital. Strategic capital is money committed alongside the fund by investors with a wider relationship with the manager. The split between the two was not disclosed.
How much of the fund does Alterra represent?
About a fifth. Alterra Acceleration committed roughly $2 billion to BGTF II on 1 December 2023, two months before the first close was announced. Measured against the $10 billion headline, it is the only individual commitment Leap records for the fund.
An anchor commitment of that size does two jobs. It gives the manager certainty that the fund will clear its first close, and it gives other investors a reference point: someone else has already done the work and committed heavily. It also concentrates influence. A limited partner holding a fifth of the capital usually expects a say in how the fund is shaped.
Alterra's relationship with Brookfield did not stop at BGTF II. Leap lists it among the sponsors of Brookfield's $2.4 billion Catalytic Transition Fund, announced in September 2024, alongside CDPQ, GIC, Temasek and Prudential. The two commitments together show a single investor building a broad position across Brookfield's transition strategy.
What will the money be spent on?
A wider set of assets than wind and solar alone. Leap describes BGTF II as Brookfield's flagship private equity fund for the energy transition. It targets utility-scale clean energy, low-carbon infrastructure, grid modernisation and technologies to decarbonise heavy industry.
Its mandate covers renewable power, business transformation, carbon capture and storage, renewable natural gas and nuclear services. Business transformation is the piece that sets it apart from a conventional renewables fund. It means buying carbon-intensive companies and changing how they operate, rather than only building new clean capacity.
The seed portfolio already gives the fund a footprint on two continents. It includes a UK onshore renewables developer and a solar development partnership in India. Both are development platforms rather than operating fleets, which suggests the fund is designed to earn its return by building assets as well as owning them.
How big is Brookfield's existing renewables business?
Large enough that a $10 billion fund is one part of a much bigger operation. Leap records Brookfield Asset Management with more than $865 billion of assets under management, including $102 billion in renewable power and transition assets. It owns almost 33 GW of generating capacity across more than 7,000 facilities, including about 10.9 GW of wind, 8.2 GW of hydro, 7 GW of solar and 5.13 GW of distributed energy and storage.
That scale cuts both ways. It gives the fund access to deal flow and operating teams that a new manager could not match. It also means Brookfield sits on both sides of many transactions, as a buyer through its funds and as a seller when it recycles assets, as it did when it sold Saeta Yield's Spanish wind and solar business to Masdar.
How does BGTF II compare with other transition fundraises?
It is the second largest in Leap for 2024. Enerdatics' data shows 15 energy transition equity raises of $1 billion or more announced in 2024, including fund closes, corporate raises and project equity. Among the funds, only Antin Infrastructure Partners' $10.7 billion Fund V, announced in December, was larger than BGTF II's first close.
Behind them came Energy Capital Partners' $6.7 billion ECP V, KKR's $6.4 billion Asia Pacific infrastructure fund, Stonepeak's $3.3 billion Asia fund and Quinbrook's $3 billion Net Zero Power Fund. In 2023 the largest raise in the same set was Blackstone's $7.1 billion BGREEN III credit fund, followed by the $6.14 billion first close of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' CI V. BGTF II's opening tranche is larger than either.
What does the raise signal for transition capital?
Capital is concentrating in the largest managers. The largest tickets in Leap's 2024 list belong to a handful of established managers, Brookfield, Antin, ECP and KKR among them. Their scale lets them write cheques that smaller funds cannot, and their track records let them close large tranches early.
It also confirms that sovereign and climate-focused investors are willing to commit large sums to a single manager. Alterra's $2 billion is one example. Other climate vehicles are taking the opposite route and spreading capital across smaller platforms, as BlackRock's Climate Finance Partnership did with Ditrolic Energy in Southeast Asia.
The open question is the final close. Brookfield is aiming to raise more than BGTF I's $15 billion. How far beyond its first $10 billion the fund travels will show whether investor appetite for broad transition mandates has kept pace with the managers asking for it.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Brookfield raise for its second Global Transition Fund? Brookfield Asset Management raised $10 billion at the first close of the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II, announced on 5 February 2024.
Who is the largest investor in Brookfield Global Transition Fund II? Alterra Acceleration committed about $2 billion to BGTF II on 1 December 2023, roughly a fifth of the first close.
What does Brookfield Global Transition Fund II invest in? BGTF II invests in renewable power, business transformation, carbon capture and storage, renewable natural gas and nuclear services, with a seed portfolio including a UK onshore renewables developer and an Indian solar development partnership.
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