KKR has held a final closing of KKR Ascendant Fund SCSP (Fund I) with $4.6 billion of capital. The new fund was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap.
KKR’s Ascendant strategy was launched in 2022 to invest in North American-headquartered middle-market companies in seven industry verticals: consumer, financial services, health care, industrials, media, software, and tech-enabled services.
Fund I’s limited partners comprise a mix of new and existing KKR investors, including public pension funds, family offices, insurance companies, and other institutional investors.
“We are very proud of the strong response we have received from our fundraising efforts and believe that Ascendant is well-positioned to address the robust and attractive opportunities in the North American middle market,” said Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor, co-heads of KKR Global Private Equity in a released statement. “We have long invested in this space in our Americas Private Equity funds and have found that we can harness KKR’s unique resources and expertise in value creation to deliver highly differentiated business outcomes. We wanted to launch a fund dedicated to this segment so that our investors could directly participate in the compelling outcomes we believe we can continue to deliver in the middle market.”
Ascendant has made investments in six North American companies to date, including Alchemer, a Colorado-based provider of customer and employee engagement data services (May 2022); 123Dentist, a British Columbia-based provider of dental practice support services (July 2022); Industrial Physics, a Massachusetts-based manufacturer of test and measurement equipment (August 2023); Potter Global Technologies, a Missouri-based manufacturer of fire and life safety equipment (November 2023); mdf commerce, a Quebec-based provider of SaaS digital commerce technologies (May 2024); and Marmic Fire & Safety, a Missouri-based provider of fire and life safety services (July 2024).
KKR’s Ascendant strategy also promotes using employee stock ownership programs at every majority-owned company it invests in.
“Broad-based employee ownership and engagement programs are key to how KKR creates and maintains value across our portfolio companies. Having seen the great success of these programs in other areas of KKR’s portfolio, we are thrilled that Ascendant will build on that strong foundation,” said Nancy Ford and Brandon Brahm, co-heads of KKR’s Ascendant strategy, in a released statement. “These programs, which provide both equity ownership to employees and a strategy to enhance employee engagement, are implemented to create aligned interests and enable all employees to participate in the investment outcomes their work creates.”
KKR (NYSE: KKR) invests in private equity, fixed income, and other companies in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Founded in 1976, KKR has offices in 19 cities worldwide in addition to its headquarters in New York City.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | September 24, 2024
