KKR Raises $19B For North American Private Equity Fund

Global investment firm KKR & Co Inc KKR on Monday announced that $19 billion was raised for KKR North America Fund XIII, surpassing the firm's previous biggest fund, the KKR 2006 Fund, by $1.4 billion.

What Happened: KKR says the fund will focus investments in North American companies in the financial services, health care, media, telecommunications, retail, industrials and technology sectors.

"We are thrilled to have had such strong receptivity to our fundraising effort, and we are extremely proud of the results we’ve been able to deliver for our investors," said Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor, co-heads of the Americas Private Equity platform at KKR. "Particularly at a time of continued volatility, we believe we are entering a macroeconomic environment that is tailor-made for private equity and for KKR specifically."

KKR says it will invest $2 billion of capital in the fund from the firm’s balance sheet, affiliates and employee commitments.

Also Read: KKR Led Consortium Offers To Buy Australia's Largest Private Hospital Operator: WSJ

Why It Matters: The firm points out that the preceding KKR Americas XII Fund had a net internal rate of return of 41.9% as of the end of 2021. That fund was launched in 2017 and received $13.9 billion from investors.

"Thanks to the strength of our Americas Private Equity investment team and extensive collaboration across our Firm, we are pleased to have been able to deliver consistent and attractive risk adjusted returns to our investors, even in the face of a global pandemic," said Alisa Amarosa Wood, global head of private markets and real assets product strategies at KKR.

KKR says with the closing of North America Fund XIII, its Americas Private Equity platform has more than $90 billion in assets under management.

KKR Price Action: KKR shares gained 2.38% in Monday's session, closing at $53, according to Benzinga Pro.