Global investment firm KKR is combining its infrastructure and real estate assets under a single leader, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The combined unit, whose assets will come to $157 billion, will be headed by Raj Agrawal, who was previously the head of global infrastructure, the source added.
The move will combine some of the best performing areas of investments - infrastructure with real estate, which has shown a relatively slower growth in recent times.
KKR's infrastructure portfolio generated a gross return of 18% in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 2024, compared to a 3% return in the opportunistic real estate portfolio in the same period.
Agrawal, speaking at a Barclays Global Financial Services Conference last year, had predicted that industrial infrastructure was an area of high-growth in the days to come.
Global head of real estate, Ralph Rosenberg, will be the chairman of the combined business - real assets, the source said, adding that the announcement of the combination was made internally.
KKR's total assets under management stood at $624 billion on Sept. 30, up 18% from the levels at the end of September 2023.
The investment firm, which is scheduled to post its fourth-quarter results early next month, saw a nearly 79% jump in its shares in 2024.
