Kayne Anderson Closes Sixth Energy Fund With $1.6 Billion

The firm attracted significant interest from pension funds toward the end of 2012, landing a $70 million commitment from the Orange County Employees’ Retirement System, $10 million commitments from the Colorado Fire and Police Pension Association and the San Antonio Fire and Police Pension Fund, plus a $5 million commitment from the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System. The fund also won a $15 million pledge from the University of Michigan Endowment Fund.  

Calls made to the company were not immediately returned.

“The success of this raise is a reflection of the tremendous investment opportunity in today’s oil and gas sector,” said Danny Weingeist, the firm’s managing partner. That opportunity, he said, “is being driven by an incredible resurgence of North American energy production and an unprecedented need for capital formation in the industry.” The firm is led by Robert Sinnott, Kayne Anderson’s president and chief executive.

Already, said the firm in a release, the new fund has allocated $750 million across seven oil and gas investments. The firm, which invests mainly in North America, typically writes investment checks of between $20 million and $100 million.

Kayne Anderson was founded in 1984 and launched its first private equity fund in 1998. The firm oversees $18 billion in alternative assets, including $4.2 billion in its six private equity funds.