KKR raises $3.9 billion for infra investments in Asia Pacific
US investment firm KKR & Co. on Monday said it raised nearly $4 billion for infrastructure-related investments in Asia-Pacific, including renewable energy and telco towers in the Philippines.
In an e-mailed statement, KKR said it closed its inaugural Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund at $3.9 billion cap.
“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,” KKR said.
“The fund’s size aligns with KKR’s expectations for infrastructure deal flow in the region through the long-term horizon,” it added.
The global investment firm said the fund was “significantly oversubscribed.”
It received strong backing from a diverse group of global infrastructure investors, it added.
The company has committed $1.8 billion across six investments in Asia.
Its Asia-Pacific infrastructure portfolio includes power producer First Gen Corp. and telecommunications infrastructure provider Pinnacle Towers Pte. Ltd.
KKR announced in November its investment in Pinnacle Towers to “strengthen and expand” the telecommunications infrastructure in the Philippines.
Pinnacle Towers’ subsidiary Frontier Tower Associates Philippines, Inc. is among the first 23 tower companies that have secured a provisional license to own, construct, manage, and operate common towers in the Philippines.
KKR acquired in June last year a nearly 12% stake in First Gen. for P9.6 billion.
Raj Agrawal, global head of infrastructure at KKR, said: “One of our differentiators is KKR’s ability to provide flexible capital solutions to meet the needs of its portfolio companies across all asset classes.”
“This unique blend of deal sourcing and structuring, along with our deep operational management and active engagement, allows us to take advantage of the full range of investment opportunities created by Asia-Pacific’s continued emergence as an economic engine for the 21st Century,” he added.
KKR has also provided capital for Metro Pacific Hospitals, the hospital arm of listed Metro Pacific Investment Corp., as well as Voyager Innovations, Inc., a unit of PLDT, Inc. — Arjay L. Balinbin
