Private equity and private credit funds have accounts to keep, investors to report to, and tax and compliance work to do. Many of their managers pay an outside administrator to handle it. Late on Monday one of them, which serves more than 275 managers, agreed to change owners.
KKR has agreed to buy Gen II Fund Services from Hg, General Atlantic and other minority investors for an enterprise value of $5.1 billion, according to Investing.com. Gen II provides fund administration and related tax, compliance, treasury and technology services to more than 275 investment managers representing over $2 trillion of assets. Latham & Watkins, which advised Hg, describes the deal as a sale by Hg together with General Atlantic and other minority investors.
From one set of investors to another
Gen II was founded in 2009 by Steven Millner, now its chief executive, with Steven Alecia and Norman Leben, Pulse 2.0 reported, and serves managers of private equity, private credit, infrastructure and real assets funds. Hg and General Atlantic co-led an investment in the company in 2020.
Since then, the companies say, Gen II has expanded in the US and Europe, made four acquisitions and added a client portal called GenVū, along with AI and automation for onboarding new clients and reconciling bank accounts. Revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation have both risen about fourfold over the period, through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Neither figure was disclosed.
KKR is buying through its Core Private Equity strategy. Mr Millner and the existing management team will stay, and KKR intends to set up a broad-based employee ownership programme giving Gen II's staff a share in the company's future growth.
Why the buyer wants it
KKR's argument rests on private markets continuing to grow and get more complicated. It sees that growth creating more demand for administrators large enough to handle complex fund structures, investor requirements and regulation, and plans to expand Gen II in the US and abroad, broaden its services across asset classes and invest in its own technology.
How quickly investors can get their money back out of private funds has been tested this year.
"KKR's ownership culture and long-term approach align perfectly with our vision for the future," Mr Millner said in the announcement. "Their resources and expertise will help our exceptional team capture the significant opportunities ahead to accelerate growth and continue to be at the forefront of our industry to serve our clients."
The sellers' advisers were Morgan Stanley, Robert W. Baird and UBS Investment Bank, with Kirkland & Ellis as legal adviser; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised KKR. The deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
The enterprise value, sellers, Gen II's client numbers and assets served, its history, acquisitions and growth, KKR's plans, the timetable, the advisers and the remarks of Steven Millner are from the companies' announcement of 5 October 2026 as published by Pulse 2.0 and as reported by Investing.com, published by Yahoo Finance. The $5.1 billion enterprise value and Hg's role as lead seller are confirmed by Latham & Watkins, Hg's legal adviser. Accurate to 3pm ET on 7 October 2026.
Topics businessmergers and acquisitionsprivate equityprivate marketsfinancial services
