이 기사는 2021년 07월 30일 08시07분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

KKR & Co is further strengthening its Seoul office, with the US private equity giant increasingly focusing on infrastructure investment in South Korea.

KKR recently hired Shin Hahn as a principal of its Asia-Pacific Infrastructure team, industry sources said on Wednesday.

Prior to joining KKR, Hahn worked at Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, based in New York, where he was involved in many investments in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

The new hire came after Keith Kim joined the firm’s Asia-Pacific Infrastructure team from Macquarie Group as a director in October 2019. Since then, KKR has been very active in infrastructure investment in the country.

KKR last year acquired 100% of Anchor Equity Partners’ waste management portfolio, Eco Green Holdings, for about 875 billion won ($760.8 million). Among the company’s holdings are ESG Co and ESG Cheongwon, which provide industrial and medical waste management services.

Shortly after the acquisition of Eco Green Holdings, KKR purchased 37.39% of water sewage treatment company TSK Corp from existing shareholders – SK E&C (16.70%), Huvis Corp (16.52%) and SK Discovery (4.17%) – in a deal worth 441 billion won in December last year. The deal made the US firm the second largest shareholder in TSK Corp after TY Holdings.

Earlier this year, KKR and TY Holdings agreed to merge ESG Co, ESG Cheongwon and TSK Corp to create a waste management giant. The combined company, which will be owned 50% each by KKR and TY Holdings, will provide comprehensive waste management services including water treatment, incineration and landfill.

KKR raised its inaugural Asia-Pacific infrastructure fund earlier this year. The fund, KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors SCSp, closed at $3.9 billion in January, only 18 months after the start of fundraising.

The fund is managed by a dedicated investment team based in markets across Asia Pacific, targeting investments in a range of infrastructure areas from waste management and renewable energy to utilities and telecommunications.

The US firm has been enhancing its Seoul office in recent years, with the number of its senior professionals based in Seoul increasing to nine.

In addition to Keith Kim, Daniel Cho joined KKR in 2019 as a principal of the Asia real estate investment team. In 2020, the firm appointed Hyu Noh as a director and Amy Lee as a principal of its client and partner group. Josh Lee also joined the firm’s private equity team as a principal in the same year. (Reporting by Hee-yeon Han)