KKR closes $19.2 billion infrastructure fund for North America, Europe

Aug 3 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR said on Monday it had closed a record $19.2 billion infrastructure fund focused on investing in assets primarily in North America and Western Europe.

Infrastructure fundraising has surged in recent years, fueled by growing investor demand for assets linked to the energy transition and digital infrastructure, especially data centers benefiting from the rise of artificial intelligence.

The company's infrastructure business has grown into one of the biggest globally, with KKR managing about $120 billion in infrastructure equity.

It saw inflows of $34 billion in the second quarter, driven by the real assets business which houses KKR's infrastructure strategies.

Through its global infrastructure strategy, KKR has invested more than $70 billion of equity in infrastructure assets across North America and Europe, the company said.

KKR said the fund, Global Infrastructure Investors V, contributes to the roughly $45 billion raised across its latest infrastructure fund vintages globally.

Fund V will focus on infrastructure investments that provide critical services, benefit from high barriers to entry and are expected to generate stable cash flows over the long term, KKR said. The fund has already committed more than $9 billion to investments.

"Europe is entering a period where investment in critical infrastructure will play an increasingly important role in supporting competitiveness, energy security and economic resilience," said Vincent Policard, Co-Head of European Infrastructure at KKR.

The company beat expectations for second-quarter profit last week, as it collected higher fees from managing a growing pool of client money and cashed in on a strong run of asset sales.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)