Energy Investors Fires Up Next Fund

Energy Investors Funds has kicked off marketing efforts for its latest fund, United States Power Fund IV, which has a target of $1.75 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The fund’s target represents a more than 20 percent increase from the firm’s previous vehicle, United States Power Fund III, which closed in June 2007 with $1.35 billion in capital commitments.

The firm, which invests exclusively in the power and electric utility industry, is already speaking to existing investors, many of whom are poised to come back for the new fund, and is just beginning to market the vehicle to new potential backers, our source said. Energy Investors is aiming for a first close in the fall, although it’s too early to predict how much they might gather by then, said the source.

The firm, which has offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco, concentrates almost exclusively on targets in the United States. considering investments in electricity generating, transmission, and energy services assets, energy and utility company ownership interests, and utility service deployment investments. The firm primarily takes control stakes in its investments, and sometimes offers investors the opportunity to co-invest alongside its funds or to invest directly.

Previous investments include Northbrook Energy LLC, a Chicago-based company that owns 14 U.S. hydroelectric power generating stations; Burney Forest Products, a wood-fueled power plant; and Astoria Energy, a gas-fired power plant under construction in New York City.

Past backers include ABP Investments, Contra Costa County Employees Retirement Association, Detroit Fire & Police Pension Board, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, John Hancock Life Insurance Co., Kauffman Foundation, Lincoln National Life, Mayo Clinic, New York Life Investment Management and the University of Toronto Endowment Fund and Pension Plan.

With offices in Boston, New York and San Francisco, Energy Investors Funds’ staff includes 31 professionals.