Amazon, Meta, Microsoft: The $704M Fund Powering Big Tech's Next Data Grab

Legal & General (LGGNY) has raised 600 million ($704 million) for its latest digital infrastructure fundat a time when private equity sentiment is still cautious. The vehicle, domiciled in Luxembourg, will target data centers, fiber, wireless networks, and cloud infrastructure across the UK, continental Europe, and selectively in the US. Management is particularly leaning into hyperscale data centers that service Amazon's AMZN AWS, Microsoft MSFT, and Meta META. Investors in the fund include UK local government pension schemes, global asset managers, and L&G's own balance sheet. A second close is expected by year-end, though the firm hasn't disclosed its fundraising target.

Behind the curtain, this marks another deliberate move by CEO Antonio Simoes to scale up L&G's private-markets machine. He brought in Eric Adler in 2024 to merge the public and private asset unitslaying the groundwork for a 85 billion ($115 billion) AUM goal in private markets by 2028. Adler told reporters that getting a 600 million raise done in today's sluggish fundraising climate is, in his words, a validation of L&G's broader strategy. The firm isn't chasing acquisitions just yet but hinted it could consider buying a US direct-lending platform. For now, it's attacking that space organicallyand just inked a private credit partnership with Blackstone in July.

To deepen its edge in digital infrastructure, L&G has pulled in new firepower. Achal Arora, previously at Macquarie, joins as managing director, while Jack Colbourne, former Arcus partner, will serve as non-executive director on the fund's investment committee. With the fund now live, talent in place, and hyperscalers like AWS and Meta driving demand, L&G could be building a private-market beachhead at the intersection of cloud and capital.