Liberty Mutual to Partner With Net-Zero Focused PE Firm Ara

Liberty Mutual Group Inc.’s asset-management arm agreed to back Ara Partners’ infrastructure and energy strategies, in the latest partnership between an insurer and an alternative investment firm.

The collaboration includes an anchor commitment to Ara’s new energy fund as well as capital for existing and future investments, according to Charley Poole, head of energy and infrastructure at Liberty Mutual Investments, which invests $117 billion worldwide on behalf of the insurer.

He declined to disclose the size of the Ara commitment.

“We view investments through a perpetual lens and can support businesses over time,” Poole said.

Houston-based Ara, which oversees about $6.6 billion of assets, invests in middle-market firms through its private equity, infrastructure and energy strategies, and its overarching goal is to decarbonize the industrial economy.

Alternative asset managers and insurers have been joining forces more in recent years, either by controlling one another or through strategic partnerships such as the one between Ara and Liberty Mutual. These arrangements provide money managers with stable, long-term sources of capital, while insurers have the opportunity to access higher yields.

In addition to the anchor commitment, Liberty Mutual will back ethanol production facilities, fuel retail network Jet and high-speed internet services firm Centric Fiber.

Liberty Mutual has been building out its investments in energy infrastructure, including equity and debt and commitments to primary funds, co-investments and direct investments.

The insurer invests across the infrastructure landscape, including renewable power, transportation and digital infrastructure, according to Poole. In January, Liberty Mutual took a minority stake in Mascarene Partners, a middle-market infrastructure investment firm.

Poole said that infrastructure is perpetually evolving.

“We’re constantly looking for new opportunities,” he added.

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