KKR plans to grow in Latin America

"Latin America is an attractive growth market for KKR," Waldemar Szlezak, senior leader of the infrastructure investment team at the US fund, told BNamericas.

Szlezak said the fund has identified significant investment opportunities in innovative companies and beneficial solutions for economic and social growth in Latin America.

He added that companies are seeing the value of financial solutions that help them reorient their capital spending to areas that generate greater returns.

“We see a great opportunity in telecommunications infrastructure in Latin America as countries seek to modernize their economies and reduce inequality; and companies are looking for innovative capital solutions,” Szlezak said.

"In Latin America we recognize the challenges, including increasing political volatility, but we take a patient long-term view and spend a lot of time in local markets to understand risk."

He also highlighted partnerships, especially the one with Telefónica, as "key" in this strategy.

KKR acquired 60% of InfraCo, Telefónica's infrastructure company in Chile and has recently launched the commercial launch of ON*NET, a neutral open fiber optic network in the country.

In Colombia, the company has just announced a similar agreement with Telefónica to create the first open and national fiber optic access network.

The KKR-Telefónica Colombia network will allow access for at least 4.3mn homes and companies in 90 municipalities during the next three years.

Colombia’s ETB, through an alliance with Ufinet, also plans to create a fiber optic network with neutral access, although in this case it is limited to capital Bogotá.

Szlezak expects the new neutral fiber optic network to benefit Colombia with greater access, competitive prices and a more efficient capital deployment. He said it will accelerate digitization and open the door for telecommunications companies to reach more customers with advanced services.

"Given the low penetration rate of the fiber optic network in Chile and Colombia, we see this as an opportunity to provide a cutting-edge digital infrastructure to millions of people and thousands of companies that need it," he said.

The KKR executive declined to comment on future transactions. "Given our confidence in the sector and our interest in the region, we would certainly be willing to have conversations with Telefónica and other operators when opportunities arise," was all he would say.

Telefónica is looking to divest assets in Latin America and operations such as those in Chile and Colombia could be seen in other markets.

KKR currently oversees infrastructure assets of US$28bn and has made more than 45 infrastructure investments, including digital infrastructure, spanning retail and wholesale fiber assets, datacenters, towers and small cells.