Global property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual Insurance’s investment firm Liberty Mutual Investments (LMI) and industrial decarbonization-focused private equity firm Ara Partners announced the formation of a new cross-platform partnership targeting investments across energy and infrastriucture.

According to Ara Partners, the new collaboration includes a strategic commitment from LMI to support Ara’s Energy and Infrastructure investment platforms, and will also enable the firms to collaborate on opportunities across their respective mandates.

Founded in 2017, Ara Partners focuses on acquiring and building companies and infrastructure designed to decarbonize heavy industry and accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy. The firm targets investments capable of delivering 60% or greater greenhouse gas emissions reductions at the product, service or asset level compared to market incumbents.

Under the new partnership, LMI and Ara Partners will collaborate on existing and future investments, including an anchor investment in Ara’s energy strategy, Ara Energy Fund I. Launched in 2024, Ara Energy seeks to acquire, optimize operations and, where economically attractive, decarbonize energy businesses and assets along the value chain across North America and Europe.

George Yong, Partner and Co-Head of Ara Infrastructure, said:

“By combining Ara’s builder skillset with LMI’s broad reach across North America’s industrial, real estate, and infrastructure ecosystem, we see a significant opportunity to unlock value and accelerate growth.”

In addition to the investment in the Ara Energy Fund I, the partners will collaborate across a range of infrastructure and energy projects, including carbon capture initiatives in ethanol plants, the JET fuel retail network in Germany and Austria, Southern U.S. based high-speed internet provider Centric Fiber, and natural-gas-fired combined-cycle power plants in the Northeast U.S.

Charley Poole, Head of Energy and Infrastructure at Liberty, said:

“We believe Ara Partners is well-positioned to continue capitalizing on opportunities amidst rising global energy demand. LMI is proud to join Ara Partners as a long-term, strategic partner as they pursue transformative outcomes across the energy and infrastructure sectors to meet this demand.”