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The private equity firm Warburg Pincus has raised $4 billion for a new fund, its first dedicated to investments in the energy sector.

Warburg Pincus said on Monday that the final amount of capital raised for the fund was $1 billion higher than the initial goal, indicating robust demand among investors. The fund began soliciting capital in November 2013 and held an initial close in May.

The fund is intended to help Warburg Pincus take advantage of the North American energy boom, though it can also invest elsewhere. The private equity firm, which has invested in several energy companies over the years, decided to open a dedicated energy fund after its limited partner investors wanted more exposure to the sector, a person briefed on the strategy said.

The biggest private equity firms have plunged into this arena. This year, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts finished raising a $2 billion fund to invest in oil and gas assets. The Blackstone Group is raising an energy fund that is expected to exceed its $4 billion target when it finishes raising capital this year.

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Warburg Pincus said its new fund would invest in energy companies focused on exploration and production, in addition to oil field services, mining and other sectors. Since it was founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has invested and committed more than $9.5 billion in more than 50 companies related to energy, including the oil and natural gas company Antero Resources and the Canadian oil sands company MEG Energy.

The energy fund is a so-called companion to Warburg Pincus’s current $11.2 billion private equity fund, meaning it may invest alongside that fund.

“This successful fund-raise reflects our strong track record and experience in energy investing globally as well as significant investor demand for the energy sector,” Joseph P. Landy, a co-chief executive of the firm, said in a statement.