Mubadala Pursues Marquee Strategy of Credit Partnerships with Firms Like KKR
Posted on 10/24/2022
Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company historically forged ties with major U.S. asset managers on credit investing platforms. Mubadala inked a strategic partnership agreement with KKR. The venture seeks to deploy at least US$ 1 billion of long-term capital, providing bespoke credit solutions to companies and sponsors in the Asia Pacific region. Mubadala will deploy its capital alongside KKR’s existing pools of capital, including the recently raised KKR Asia Credit Opportunities Fund, a US$ 1.1 billion vehicle focused on performing, privately originated credit investments in the region.
Mubadala is keen on getting more investment exposure to a growing credit market in the APAC region. The partnership enables KKR to take on more risk and scale its credit platform in the region. In the Asia-Pacific region, KKR has deployed nearly US$ 3 billion in credit capital since 2019. This has included providing acquisition financing and bespoke capital solutions for companies and financial sponsors in the environmental services, real estate, education, infrastructure, and healthcare sectors. KKR Credit has made investments across APAC, including Australia, Greater China, India, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam. KKR recently hired Michael de Freitas as Director of the Middle East, earlier de Freitas ran a similar role at Barings. In 2020, Barings formed Barings Mubadala Enterprise (BME) – an evergreen origination platform seeking to provide financing solutions to European middle-market businesses.
In February 2022, Mubadala expanded its partnership with Apollo Management in the alternative asset manager’s capital solutions business. Mubadala’s expanded partnership builds on the Apollo Strategic Origination Partners (ASOP) platform formed in 2020, reinforcing the relationship between Apollo and Mubadala.
