PE fund KKR raises $9.3 billion, plans to invest in Asia Pacific region

Private equity firm KKR & Co. has raised $9.3 billion for its investments in Asia Pacific region, under fund name KKR Asian Fund III.

The release states the fund received backing from a diverse group of new and existing global investors, including public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, family offices and high net worth individual investors.

“India is an integral part of our Asia strategy and this is an exciting time for investment given India’s macroeconomic environment and constructive government initiatives, as well as rising consumption and urbanization trends. The closing of our Asian Fund III furthers KKR’s commitment to India and gives us an even greater opportunity to assist market-leading businesses in their growth,” said Sanjay Nayar, member and chief executive officer of KKR India.

With the closing of this fund, KKR surpasses its $6 billion Asian Fund II, which it raised in 2013, and has become one of the largest private equity funds dedicated to investing in the region.

The fund has been investing in India since 2006. It has invested approximately $3.2 billion in Indian companies and $12 billion in Pan-Asia through its private equity business. KKR’s private equity business manages over $68 billion in assets under management worldwide.

Under its private equity investments, the funds has invested in companies such as Aricent, Avendus Capital, Bharti Infratel, Cafe Coffee Day, Emerald Media, Magma Fincorp, Max Financial Services and SBI Life. Over the last 12 months, it has also exited from portfolio companies such as Alliance Tire Group, Dalmia Bharat Group, Gland Pharma and TVS Logistics.

“We see a diverse set of opportunities across Asia Pacific stemming from rising consumption and urbanization trends in key markets as well as larger carve-out and cross-border transactions in countries such as Japan. We look forward to partnering with companies to provide unique value-add capabilities beyond capital investment alone which generate positive results for our stakeholders,” said Ming Lu, KKR member and head of Asia Private Equity.

The predecessor fund of the Asian Fund III, KKR Asian Fund II, began investing in late 2013 and is now fully deployed. It has generated a net IRR of 20.6% and a net multiple of 1.3x.

The company is also setting up an asset reconstruction company, or ARC, to acquire debt-ridden companies and assets.