Khaitan & Co Advises NIIF on First Close of Its Second Flagship Infrastructure Fund
Khaitan & Co advised the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) on the first closing of NIIF Infrastructure Fund II, its second flagship infrastructure fund, which has secured aggregate commitments of ₹19,000 crore (approximately USD 2 billion). The first close represents over 60% of the Fund's target size of ₹30,000 crore (approximately USD 3.2 billion).
The first close is anchored by the Government of India and supported by a high-quality investor base comprising sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies and leading Indian financial institutions. Global institutional investors include AustralianSuper; CPP Investments; a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA); Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; and Temasek. Leading Indian institutions participating in the Fund include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Life Insurance and HDFC Life Insurance.
The capital was raised through a combination of direct commitments to the Fund and investments through a feeder fund established in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
According to the firm, the Fund is the largest alternative investment fund (AIF) in India in terms of capital raised. It is also a sovereign-anchored fund, with the Government of India acting as an anchor investor alongside several prominent global institutional investors.
The core team at Khaitan & Co comprised Siddharth Shah (Partner), Divaspati Singh (Partner), Gaurita Udiyawar (Counsel), Deep Shah (Principal Associate), Nikhat Hetavkar (Senior Associate), Parv Pancholi (Associate) and Stuti Singh (Associate).
The firm acted as the lead fund counsel, advising NIIF on the establishment and registration of the Fund and the Feeder Fund, including key structuring aspects and regulatory considerations. It also assisted NIIF with the fundraising process, acting as lead counsel in engagements with investors and negotiating key terms in the fund documents.