KKR to Pursue Record $12.5 Billion Buyout Fund for Asia
KKR’s third fund took control of companies including EuroKids International in India and MYOB Group in Australia.
(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. is seeking to raise $12.5 billion for its fourth buyout fund targeting Asia, a record size for the region, according to a fundraising document seen by Bloomberg.
The New York-based firm began marketing the fund this week, the document shows. The proposed amount is about a third greater than its previous $9.3 billion fund raised in 2017, much of which has already been invested. A Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.
Buyout giants including TPG, Bain Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia have stockpiled tens of billions of dollars for regional funds over the past year or so as investors increasingly channel their money to firms with scale and the most prominent reputations. KKR is betting that Asia, which accounts for most of the world’s economic growth, and the continent’s expanding ranks of billionaires and middle-class consumers will continue to fuel ever-larger deal-making.
KKR’s third fund put a greater emphasis on buyouts, taking control of companies including EuroKids International Pvt. in India and MYOB Group Ltd. in Australia. That fund has generated a net return of 43%, a regulatory filing shows, partly driven by investments in KCF Technologies in Korea and Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc. in Japan. The firm also raised about $6.5 billion this month for its latest European buyout fund, which will focus on transactions in Western Europe.
KKR is tapping the market for capital after investing $3.87 billion of its latest Asia war chest as of Sept. 30, according to its filing. That doesn’t include announced transactions involving Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. and NVC Lighting Holding Ltd.
The new fund would surpass the $10.6 billion raised by Chinese investment firm Hillhouse Capital Group last year.
--With assistance from Heather Perlberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jun Luo at jluo6@bloomberg.net, David Scheer
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