KKR plans Asia tech fund
KKR plans to raise a growth-stage technology fund focused on Asia, expanding a strategy that is already operational in North America, Europe, and Israel.
The impending launch was revealed by Scott Nuttall, the firm’s co-president and co-COO, on an earnings call with analysts in which he also emphasized the importance of developing infrastructure, real estate and credit strategies in the region. “A big priority for the firm this year was expanding our Asia platform outside of private equity and the summary is that we're on track,” Nuttall said.
KKR closed its debut Next Generation Technology Growth Fund, which doesn’t cover Asia, in 2016 with $711 million in commitments. A successor vehicle reached a first close of $1.8 billion in the third quarter. The technology, media, and telecom (TMT) team takes minority and majority positions in high-growth private businesses. It also invests selectively in public companies.
The firm has participated in growth-stage rounds for technology start-ups through its pan-Asian funds. The portfolio includes Indonesian ride-hailing and delivery player Go-Jek, online used car trading platform Uxin Group, and online-to-offline services business 58 Daojia. Most recently, it co-led a $85 million round for Huohua, a Chinese online education platform specializing in mathematics and science.
KKR is expected to begin raising its fourth pan-Asian fund in the next 18 months as its three largest vehicles globally all come back to market. The previous Asian vehicle closed at $9.3 billion in June 2017.
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