Auckland, 11 May 2018: The NZ Super Fund has added another expansion capital investment to its NZ$38b (US$27b) portfolio, investing US$65m in cloud-based waste and recycling technology company Rubicon Global (www.rubiconglobal.com/).
Headquartered in Atlanta, Rubicon Global ('Rubicon') provides an innovative technology platform for waste and recycling. It connects customers to a network of independent waste haulers and is leading the development of smart city products in the waste and recycling space. The company's goal is to help businesses, governments and organisations confidently execute on their sustainability goals through their waste management operations.
Mark Fennell, the NZ Super Fund's Acting Chief Investment Officer, said Rubicon provided an attractive opportunity for the Fund to increase its exposure to expansion capital.
Following the Rubicon investment, around 2% of the NZ Super Fund is invested in expansion capital investments. The Fund has direct investments in fuel cell manufacturer Bloom Energy, dynamic glass manufacturer View Inc. and waste-to-energy company LanzaTech. In New Zealand the NZ Super Fund has supported a large number of small and medium-sized high growth companies via external managers Direct Capital, Pioneer Capital, Pencarrow, Waterman Capital and Movac.
Mr. Fennell said: "It's pleasing to be able to leverage our timeframe, scale and diversification to support growth companies such as Rubicon that, while established from a technology point of view, are pre-IPO. As a long-term investor, the NZ Super Fund is able to invest in high growth companies with a view to realising long-term potential. These expansion capital investments are an important part of our investment mix because they can help drive long-run returns."