KKR closes $15 bn PE fund to invest in APAC

The company, which has over $5.7 billion invested or committed in the country across 20 deals, did not specify how much of the newly raised Asian Fund IV will be committed to India

Mumbai: Global buyout major KKR on Tuesday said it has closed a $15 billion fund to invest in private equity deals in Asia-Pacific region. The company, which has over $5.7 billion invested or committed in the country across 20 deals, did not specify how much of the newly raised Asian Fund IV will be committed to India.

“India is an important part of KKR’s Asia Pacific investment strategy across all our asset classes. The country’s dynamic population and strong economic fundamentals are fuelling the growth of India’s innovative and disruptive homegrown companies,” its partner Gaurav Trehan said.

A company spokesperson said it is not setting specific deployment targets for each market and the same would depend on a “favourable risk-to-reward balance” in a region and added that India is a key part of its regional strategy. “We think there are attractive opportunities centered around the themes of consumption upgrades, carve-outs, and divestitures from large conglomerates, globally competitive, export-driven businesses, and generational transitions,” the spokesperson added.

Till date, it has made five investments from the fund even before its final close, and two of them have been in Indian companies, the spokesperson said. These include $1.5 billion investment for a 2.32 per cent stake in Reliance Jio announced in May 2020, and $755 million for a 1.28 per cent stake in Reliance Retail announced in September 2020.

In a statement, the company said the fund is at present the largest private equity fund dedicated to investing in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, and KKR will itself be investing $1.3 billion in it alongside investors. Its co-head of Asia Pacific Private Equity Hiro Hirano said while each market is unique, “the long-term fundamentals underpinning the region’s growth are consistent – the demand for consumption upgrades, a fast-growing middle class, rising urbanization, and technological disruption.”