KKR closes special situation fund at $2 bln

The New York megafirm said that it already has deployed 30 percent of the capital commitments to the $2 billion KKR Special Situations Fund LP. The firm said it had been particularly active in Europe in the last two years.

KKR launched its special situations strategy in 2010, managed by co?heads Nat Zilkha and Jamie Weinstein. The team, which includes 15 dedicated investment professionals located in London, New York, San Francisco and Sydney, is part of the broader KKR Asset Management credit investment team, which has more than 40 dedicated credit investing pros.

Before raising the fund, which held its first close in December 2012, the firm said it relied primarily on separate accounts from large institutional clients for its special situations deals. KKR said its credit business has $20.9 billion of assets under management, a sum that will grow to some $29 billion when the firm completes its acquisition of the $8 billion European credit investment manager Avoca Capital, a deal that was announced in October and is expected to close this quarter.

KKR has expanded its investments in credit in recent years. The firm closed its inaugural mezzanine fund in August 2011 with $1 billion in commitments. The firm also has expanded into direct lending, advising on a privately traded business development company, Corporate Capital Trust, which is being marketed to retail customers by CNL Financial Group.

KKR said its special situations investments in 2013 include Hilding Anders International AB, a bed and mattress manufacturer based in Sweden, TPS Group, a food?related business in Indonesia, Winoa Group, a developer of technologies for the metal and stone industries based in France, the insulation division of Uralita in Spain and Amedisys, a home healthcare company in the United States.

KKR appears not to have employed a placement agent to market the new fund, regulatory filings showed.