In 2006, we completed our first major infrastructure transaction, a 10,000-kilometer electricity transmission system in Chile. Three years later, we acquired a 40% interest in infrastructure manager Babcock & Brown. From there, we acquired BUUK Infrastructure, which designs, constructs, owns and operates last-mile utility networks in the U.K. BUUK would become one of our most successful infrastructure investments, generating 12 times the invested capital by 2021.
That said, when we initially launched Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, most investors did not know what to make of our offering. "When we spoke about the opportunities in infrastructure, we were met with a lot of blank looks,” Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt said. “Infrastructure just didn’t exist for investors back then."
We believed we could adapt the skills we had developed both building and operating infrastructure assets and provide our clients with a chance to invest alongside us – whether through our publicly listed affiliate, BIP, or through our private funds geared toward institutional investors.
Over time, the size of our investments, the amount of capital required, and the potential of the opportunities continue to grow. Our infrastructure business has been able to deliver consistent, attractive returns with operations that have stable, regulated cash flows underpinned by long-term, inflation-linked contracts.
Following the same strategy we developed for real estate, we leverage our infrastructure investments prudently to ensure they can withstand market uncertainty. Today, this pragmatic approach has enabled Brookfield to quietly raise the most capital of any infrastructure investment manager globally.
