KKR Closes Latest Flagship European Buyout Fund at €5.8bn

November 5, 2019

NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the final closing of European Fund V (“the Fund”), a €5.8bn fund focused on private equity-related transactions in the core markets of Western Europe. KKR will be investing $400m of capital alongside investors through the Firm’s balance sheet and employee commitments.

Johannes Huth, Member and Head of KKR EMEA, said “KKR has been investing in Europe for over twenty years and our position has never been stronger. We will invest our fifth European fund by maintaining the differentiated approach that has served us so well to date, combining our local country knowledge with the skill and insights of our sector teams to source and execute investments. Europe’s complex dynamics create significant opportunities to deploy capital and continue delivering value and outperformance for our investors.”

KKR completed its first European investment in 1996 and raised its first dedicated European fund in 1999. In Private Equity, the Firm has 46 investment professionals and 18 operating and capital markets professionals working across six European offices in London, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, Dublin and Luxembourg. The team operates in a matrix structure, combining deep local market knowledge and relationships with sector expertise across the five priority sectors of TMT, Consumer & Retail, Business & Financial Services, Industrials and Healthcare.

Alisa Amarosa Wood, Member and Head of the Private Market Products Group at KKR, said “We’re delighted by the investor response to our latest flagship fund in Europe. The significant demand we’ve seen from a wide range of institutional and private clients around the world is testament to the strong track record of our team and the confidence our investors have in KKR’s ability to continue to navigate the European market and deliver attractive returns.”

Johannes Huth, who joined KKR as the first employee in Europe in 1999, is supported by a strong senior team representing nine different European nationalities, including nine Members with an average of 20 years’ industry experience and combining sector and country oversight responsibility. Earlier this month, KKR announced that Mattia Caprioli and Philipp Freise, who have been at KKR for nearly two decades, are now Co-Heads of European private equity, reporting to Johannes. More broadly, the investment platform in Europe draws on the expertise and global resources that KKR can bring to its investments, across KKR Capital Markets, Capstone and the Global Institute.

KKR’s EMEA private equity platform is currently investing a combined $11.6bn. Since 2009, it has delivered significant value to its private equity investors, generating a 2.6x gross multiple and a 23.6% gross IRR for fully and partially realised transactions as of September 30, 2019.

To learn more about KKR’s approach to private equity in EMEA, watch a video about the platform here.

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About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.