Today, Private Equity International (PEI), Private Debt Investor (PDI), Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) and Infrastructure Investor announced the winners of their 2022 industry awards. This year, we are honored to be the winner of 36 awards, matching our record number of wins set in 2021.
We are pleased to see all of KKR’s regions and businesses represented in these awards, which recognize growth and achievements made over the trailing 12-month period through November 2022. Determined by a competitive public vote across LPs, GPs and advisors, these recognitions are a testament to the power of our one firm approach and the incredible support we have from our clients and those we do business with around the world.
Please find a list of awards below with highlights from the reports published by PEI, PDI, PERE and Infrastructure Investor.
Private Equity International Awards
Global
- Healthcare Private Equity Firm of the Year
- PEI recognized KKR for being an active investor in the health care industry globally. KKR invested or committed approximately $3.8 billion across 10 transactions during the relevant period and closed its second health care growth fund at $4 billion in January 2022 – nearly triple the size of its 2017 predecessor.
- Long-Term Private Equity Firm of the Year
- PEI recognized KKR’s $25 billion Core Investments strategy as global winner for the second year in a row, highlighting its commitment to four new long-term investments, including Refresco, a leading global independent beverage manufacturer, and CyrusOne, a premier global data center infrastructure provider.
- Growth Equity Firm of the Year
- KKR was the first-ever winner of this category, which PEI introduced in 2022. The award recognized KKR’s global activity across its Technology Growth and Health Care Growth verticals, including the closing of KKR’s second health care strategic growth fund with $4 billion in commitments in January 2022 and the doubling of the firm’s global Tech Growth team.
Americas
- Fundraise of the Year
- PEI recognized KKR for the close of KKR North America Fund XIII, the firm’s largest fundraise to date. The Fund, which closed at approximately $19 billion in March 2022, was also the largest fundraise for any private equity fund dedicated to investing in North America, according to PEI.
- Exit of the Year in North America – C.H.I. Overhead Doors
- PEI recognized KKR’s sale of garage door manufacturer C.H.I. Overhead Doors (CHI) in June 2022, highlighting the success and impact of its employee ownership model, which made all 800 CHI employees owners of the business. In connection with the closing, CHI’s non-management employees received substantial cash payouts (on average, approximately $175,000) on their equity in the company. The sale also represented one of KKR’s largest returns in recent history, at 10 times the original equity invested.
- Secondaries Deal of the Year – Internet Brands (joint winners alongside Goldman Sachs, Partners Group and Lazard)
- PEI recognized KKR and its advisors for the recapitalization of Internet Brands, one of the largest single-asset continuation fund deals of all time.
APAC
- Large-Cap Firm of the Year
- PEI recognized KKR’s leading position in Asia Pacific for the seventh consecutive year and ninth time since the award was introduced in 2010. PEI highlighted KKR’s investments in Indian global seed company Advanta Enterprises Limited. and Chinese pet hospital chain Ruichen. KKR also completed two full or partial private equity investment exits and two portfolio company IPOs in Asia over the relevant period.
- Firm of the Year in India
- KKR has completed four private equity investments in India over the relevant period. Highlights include KKR’s investment in Advanta Enterprises Limited, a global seed company, and KKR’s exit of its position in Max Healthcare, the country’s second-largest hospital chain and India’s largest single-block private equity sale.
- Firm of the Year in Southeast Asia
- KKR received its seventh consecutive Firm of the Year recognition in Southeast Asia. PEI highlighted KKR’s support of two portfolio company IPOs and the Firm’s continued build-out of its capabilities across strategies, including the appointment of Partners Mukul Chawla and Neil Arora as Head of Growth Equity in Asia Pacific and Head of Energy Transition in Asia Pacific respectively.
EMEA
- Large-Cap Firm of the Year
- PEI recognized KKR’s significant pace of deployment and distributions in Europe over the relevant period, highlighting new investments including Accell Group, Körber Supply Chain Software, Contabo, IVI-RMA and GeneraLife, as well as 16 add-ons within KKR’s portfolio.
- Firm of the Year in Germany
- Over the relevant period, KKR completed two new investments in Germany – Körber Supply Chain Software and Contabo – as well as a number of add-ons within its portfolio. KKR has also continued to grow its office in Germany, adding over 20 dedicated executives in the country since opening an office on the ground in 2018.
Private Debt Investor Awards
Global
- Sponsored Deal of the Year
- KKR was recognized for providing a $300 million junior financing package to support Advent International’s high profile acquisition of Ultra Electronics, a leading UK-based defense electronics provider.
Americas
- Junior Lender of the Year
- PDI recognized KKR for continuing to grow its diversified portfolio of primarily floating rate junior debt investments, targeting leading large-cap businesses in defensive sectors across the U.S., Europe and Asia.
APAC
- Fundraising of the Year
- PDI recognized KKR for the final close of its KKR Asia Credit Opportunities Fund, which pursues investments primarily in performing privately originated credit. The strategy broadly targets opportunities across three primary investment themes: senior and unitranche corporate lending; subordinated corporate lending; and asset-based finance investments in Asia Pacific.
- Junior Lender of the Year
- PDI recognized KKR as Junior Lender of the Year in Asia Pacific for the second year in a row for its continued robust junior lending activity, including to a leading private education platform in Southeast Asia and businesses in China.
Private Equity Real Estate Awards
Americas
- Office Investor of the Year
- PERE recognized KKR for Global Atlantic Financial Group’s $1.7 billion recapitalization of Drawbridge Realty’s Class A office portfolio and for the purchase of Atlantic Yards, a Class A trophy office property in Atlanta, Georgia.
APAC
- Firm of the Year
- PERE recognized KKR for its significant activity in real estate across Asia Pacific, highlighting KKR’s $2 billion acquisition of Japanese REIT manager Mitsubishi Corp-UBS Realty, renamed KJR Management (see Asia Pacific Deal of the Year) and its first office acquisition in Singapore in Twenty Anson.
- Industry Figure of the Year – John Pattar, Partner & Head of Real Estate in Asia Pacific
- John Pattar was recognized for leading the growth of KKR’s real estate business in Asia Pacific from $430m in 2018 to $14 billion at the time of submission. Highlights over the last 12 months include John’s instrumental role in KKR’s $2 billion J-REIT platform purchase (see Asia-Pacific Deal of the Year) and helping establish a new Core Plus real estate strategy in the region.
- Deal of the Year – KJRM
- KKR’s $2 billion acquisition of Japanese REIT manager Mitsubishi Corp-UBS Realty, renamed KJR Management, deepened the Firm’s commitment to Japan, expanded its access to permanent capital and added approximately $14 billion to KKR’s global real estate assets under management at its close.
Infrastructure Investor Awards
Global
- Fund Manager of the Year
- KKR’s Infrastructure business continued its strong momentum in 2022. Highlights included the final close of KKR Global Infrastructure Investors IV at $17 billion, more than double the size of its 2018 predecessor and KKR’s Infrastructure business in Asia becoming the largest pan-Asian infrastructure platform, according to Infrastructure Investor.
- Equity Fundraising of the Year
- Also recognized for: Equity Fundraising of the Year (Americas)
- KKR’s Global Infrastructure Investors IV closed at $17 billion, more than double the size of its 2018 predecessor, and the year’s largest fund close according to Infrastructure Investor.
- Deal of The Year – CyrusOne (joint winners alongside GIP)
- Also recognized for: Digital Infrastructure Deal of The Year (Global); Deal of The Year (Americas)
- Infrastructure Investor recognized KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for their $15 billion take private of CyrusOne, a leading global data center REIT that owns 50 data centers with a power capacity of about 1GW. According to Infrastructure Investor, the transaction was the largest data center deal ever.
- Transport Investor of the Year
- Also recognized for: Transport Investor of the Year (APAC)
- KKR significantly expanded its roads platform in India, launching Highways Infrastructure Trust, a roads infrastructure investment trust, and strengthened its bench of senior executives with transportation experience with the appointments of Hardik Shah as Partner and Ami Momaya as Director in India. In China, KKR also invested in an integrated car park assets, investment, and operating platform.
- Digital Infrastructure Investor of the Year
- Infrastructure Investor recognized KKR’s Infrastructure business for its continued activity in digital and telecommunications infrastructure. Highlights include the $15 billion CyrusOne take-private and the €16 billion Vantage Towers deal.
Americas
- Fund Manager of the Year
- KKR’s Infrastructure business continued its strong momentum in 2022 with the final close of KKR Global Infrastructure Investors IV at $17 billion, more than double the size of its 2018 predecessor. Over the last 12 months, KKR has invested and committed over $10 billion across transactions in the Americas, including CyrusOne and Clearway Energy’s thermal business.
- Fund Manager of the Year (Latin America)
- Infrastructure Investor recognized KKR for making a number of notable transactions in Latin America, including an investment in Contour Global, a power generation company and a joint venture with Telefónica Colombia to establish ONNET Colombia, Colombia’s first nationwide open access fiber platform.
APAC
- Fund Manager of the Year
- After closing its first APAC-focused fund at $3.9 billion in 2021, KKR kept busy in 2022, nearly reaching full deployment on that vehicle while also raising capital for a follow-up fund. The firm has deployed capital in over a dozen investments across the region, including in India, Japan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Australia and Greater China.
- Deal of The Year – Spark Infrastructure (joint winners alongside Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PSP Investments)
- Also recognized for: Energy Deal of the Year (APAC)
- KKR, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board were recognized for their $5.2 billion acquisition of Spark Infrastructure. Infrastructure Investor noted that the transaction represents one of the region’s largest energy deals of the year.
- Transport Deal of the Year – Highways Infrastructure Trust
- KKR launched Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), the firm’s third infrastructure investment trust in India, in August 2022. HIT’s portfolio is comprised of six roads assets spanning more than 450km across six states in the country – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
- Energy Investor of the Year (Asia-Pacific)
- Energy continued to be a strong pillar of KKR’s infrastructure investment strategy in Asia Pacific, with the firm announcing and launching several new investments and platforms throughout the qualifying period. Notable examples included: Singapore-headquartered platform Aster Renewable Energy; Indian independent power producer Hero Future Energies; Indian decarbonisation platform Serentica Renewables; and leading a consortium to acquire the Australian listed energy networks business Spark Infrastructure.
- Digital Infrastructure Investor of the Year
- Over the past two years, KKR’s telecom tower platform, Pinnacle has continued to grow, establishing itself as one of the leading TowerCos in the Philippines and expanding into Pinnacle’s second market – Bangladesh. This includes the acquisition of over 3,500 towers from Globe Telecom as part of the largest-ever tower sale-and-leaseback transaction in the Philippines, and the acquisition of AB HighTech in Bangladesh.
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