KKR acquires GIP's stake in Highway Concessions One

Global investment firm KKR on Monday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners' entire stake in Highway Concessions One (HC1) and seven highway assets with a total length of 487 kilometres.

With this acquisition, KKR aims to help strengthen and expand India's national highway network, which serves about 40 per cent of total traffic but accounts for only 2 per cent of the country's road network, it said in a statement.

HC1 is a platform in India that manages Global Infrastructure Partners' (GIP) road portfolio which spans across seven states namely Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

"Roads are one of the largest and most crucial infrastructure assets in India...We are truly excited to invest in a high-quality platform and through HC1 play a part in India's transport infrastructure," Managing Director and Head of India Infrastructure at KKR, Hardik Shah said.

KKR made its investment from the KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Fund, it added.

This is KKR's third investment in India from the Fund and its first in Asia's transport sector.

Recent infrastructure investments in India include India Grid Trust (IndiGrid), an infrastructure investment trust, and Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy company in the country.

EY and Deloitte acted as advisors while AZB & Partners and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal advisors to KKR.