Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc has held the final close of its second global impact fund dedicated to investments that advance sustainability and social equity, with $2.8bn in capital commitments, according to a report by Reuters
The report cites the fund’s co-heads Ken Mehlman and Robert Antablin as saying in an interview that more opportunities to deploy capital led to the fund attracting more than double the $1.3bn raised for its impact fund in 2020.
The fund will only make investments that advance one or more of the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals in a measurable way. The impact fund can invest in companies alongside KKR’s other private equity funds, though in the majority of its investments it will be the sole KKR fund participating.
KKR’s global impact team, which has grown from four people when it launched in 2018 to more than 20, so far has made 18 investments, including: CoolIT Systems, which allows data centers to reduce energy use with cooling liquid; CMC Packaging Automation, which curbs consumption of packaging materials through custom designs; Graduation Alliance, which helps high school dropouts earn high school diplomas; and Five Star, which promotes economic opportunity by lending to small businesses in southern and central India.
