When bad is good: KKR looks to lend more, buy Indian NBFCs
KKR & Co. is seeking to lend in partnership with Indian banks and buy more local non-bank financiers as a funding squeeze in the world’s fastest-growing economy creates opportunities for US private equity giants. “We are in dialogue with banks to see if there are creative ways to partner" to lend to small-to-midsized companies, B V Krishnan, chief executive officer of KKR India Financial Services, said in an interview in Mumbai. KKR is also looking for acquisitions of Indian non-bank lenders, according to Krishnan, in line with what people with knowledge of the matter said in October. Global investors from Oaktree Capital Group LLC to Varde Partners have mulled lending to companies in India, where the lack of a deep bond market and a bad-debt crisis have constrained borrowers’ attempts to access longer-term funds. Financing for smaller firms has dried up since a string of shock defaults by shadow lender Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS...