Global private equity giant KKR announced the final close of KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors SCSp, a US$3.9 billion fund focused on infrastructure-related investments across Asia Pacific.
“We are thrilled to announce the close of our inaugural Asian infrastructure fund, coming at this pivotal time for the infrastructure sector,” said Ming Lu, Head of KKR Asia Pacific.
KKR’s infrastructure investment approach combines a disciplined selection process with distinctive deal sourcing and structuring capabilities executed by a dedicated investment team based in markets across Asia Pacific.
In line with this approach, the Fund will focus on critical infrastructure with low volatility and strong downside protection where KKR believes it can achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns by leveraging its global network of industry experts, its highly experienced team in Asia Pacific, and long history of operational value creation.
The Fund has a broad investment mandate across both emerging and developed Asia Pacific, in sectors including waste, renewables, power and utilities, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure.
At the time of close, the Fund reached its hard cap to become the largest pan-regional infrastructure fund to have been raised for Asia Pacific. The Fund’s size aligns with KKR’s expectations for infrastructure deal flow in the region through the long-term horizon.
KKR invested approximately US$300 million in capital alongside external investors through its balance sheet and employee commitments.
The Fund, which was significantly oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap, received strong backing from a diverse group of prominent global infrastructure investors, including public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, private banking platforms, family offices and high net worth individual investors.
“Infrastructure is a key priority for KKR in Asia Pacific and we are proud to have built one of the leading infrastructure investment platforms in the region. The size of this fund and the caliber of our limited partners reflect the strength of both our Asia Pacific and infrastructure businesses, and speaks to our ability to deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns to our investors through a careful investment approach,” said David Luboff, Head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at KKR.
KKR first established its global infrastructure team and strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world. Over this period, the Firm has deployed more than US$24 billion across approximately 40 infrastructure investments, and currently has a team of approximately 45 dedicated investment professionals.
In Asia, KKR has committed US$1.8 billion across six investments as part of the firm’s dedicated Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy, which was launched in 2019. KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure portfolio includes India Grid Trust, India’s leading infrastructure investment trust; Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy company in India; Eco Solutions Group, a leading environmental services provider in South Korea; First Gen, a leading Philippines power producer; TSK Corporation, an environmental services management company in South Korea, and Pinnacle Towers, a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider in the Philippines. – BusinessNewsAsia.com