KKR corrals $793m for second Americas fund

KKR has raised $793 million for its second Americas-focused opportunistic fund, the firm said in its second-quarter earnings Thursday.

The New York-based private equity firm launched KKR Real Estate Partners Americas II in the fourth quarter of 2015 with a $2 billion target, PERE previously reported. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that REPA II’s first close occurred in June 2016 but did not specify the amount raised.

KKR closed its debut opportunistic vehicle in December 2013 on $1.5 billion, PERE previously reported. The firm had invested about $948.5 million of REPA I’s capital as of June 30, with the fund’s investment period having ended in May.

One investor in the fund series is the Maine Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has earmarked $50 million to both REPA I and II.

REPA I generated a 16 percent net internal rate of return and a 1.4x multiple as of March 31, according to KKR's first quarter report.

The firm is using New York-based Morgan Stanley and Seoul-based Daewoo Securities as placement agents for REPA II, according to the SEC filings. JPMorgan was the placement agent for REPA I.

In the second quarter, KKR also took its real estate debt unit public, raising $210 million for KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in May, PERE previously reported.

“We like creative permanent capital ideas and we’ll continue to look at it,” Nuttall said on Thursday’s analyst call.

Overall, KKR managed $148 billion in assets as of June 30, up 13 percent from the end of the first quarter. The firm had $830 million in economic net income during the second quarter, up from $249 million in Q2 2016.