US firm KKR to raise up to $7 bn for first global climate fund: Report
US investment firm KKR & Co is looking to raise up to $7 billion for its first global climate fund to invest in energy transition opportunities, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The New York-headquartered firm plans to close the fund for the first time in the first half of next year, the source added, but asked not to be named because the matter was confidential.
Private equity funds typically, but not necessarily, begin investing after their initial closing, which is when they receive an initial round of investor commitments.
KKR's global climate fund will focus on investing in environmentally friendly technologies such as energy storage, battery-related businesses and transportation, and decarbonizing existing assets such as conventional energy and infrastructure, the source said.
The fund will look for opportunities in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific for investments of between $300 million and $750 million each, the source said.
KKR declined to comment.
KKR's first global climate fund comes as investors increasingly focus on investments and funds that can help combat global warming. This year's UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai is now debating the future of fossil fuels, the combustion of which is the biggest cause of climate change.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the fund arm of Goldman Sachs, announced in January that it had raised $1.6 billion for its first private equity fund focused on investing in companies that provide climate and environmental solutions.
Earlier this month, the US committed $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund, an international fund committed to climate action.
KKR has strengthened its climate investment strategy.
In August, the company appointed Charlie Gailliot, former head of energy transition at Goldman Sachs, as co-head of global climate strategy, less than a year after it recruited Emmanuel Lagarrigue from Schneider Electric and Neil Arora from Macquarie to the same role.
According to its website, KKR has committed more than $40 billion to sustainability-focused investments since 2010, including more than $30 billion in climate and environmental sustainability investments since 2010.
It announced a $750 million investment in British battery solutions company ZenobÄ in September. Other investments include Indian sustainable energy platform Virescent Infrastructure and British waste-to-energy company Viridor.