Moves: KKR India moves Kumar to Singapore to lead Southeast Asia PE -sources

J B Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals

01/06/2023 13:36

By M. Sriram and Yantoultra Ngui
       MUMBAI/SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) - KKR & Co  KKR.N  is
moving a managing director from India to Singapore to lead the
firm's Southeast Asia private equity business, two familiar with
the matter sources told Reuters, bolstering its personnel in the
region.
    Prashant Kumar, who has been with KKR in Mumbai since 2018,
will move to Singapore and start his new role in July, one of
the sources said. 
    Kumar will work with Ashish Shastry, a partner who heads
Southeast Asia and co-heads the firm's Asia Pacific Private
Equity business.
    A spokesperson for KKR declined to comment.
    Kumar, an alumnus of The Wharton School and the Indian
Institute of Technology, has invested in Indian companies
including deodorant-maker Vini Cosmetics and drug-maker JB
Chemicals.
    Kumar's move comes after KKR has bolstered its Indian 
leadership in recent years. It hired Gaurav Trehan from fellow
buyout firm TPG Inc  TPG.O  in 2020 to lead its Indian business.
    Last month, KKR also hired Trehan's former colleague Akshay
Tanna from TPG to be a partner in its Indian private equity
team, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter. 
    The move also comes as KKR strengthens its presence in India
and Southeast Asia. It raised $15 billion for its fourth
Asia-Pacific focused private equity fund in 2021, one of the
region's largest for the asset class.
    KKR has been investing in Southeast Asia since 2005, and
opened its Singapore office in 2012. Its investments in the
region include private equity, real estate, credit and
infrastructure. 
    In March, KKR-backed telecom tower platform Frontier Tower
Associations bought more than a 100 telecom towers in the
Philippines from broadband group PLDT for $220 million. 
    Reuters reported last week that hospital chain Aster DM
Healthcare  ATRD.NS  and its advisers had reached out to KKR to
hold talks over a stake sale.

 (Reporting by M. Sriram in Mumbai and Yantoultra Ngui in
Singapore  Editing by Kane Wu and Mark Potter)
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