KKR-backed InCred’s private credit arm to raise $174 million

The credit arm of KKR & Co.-backed shadow lender InCred Financial Services plans to raise 15 billion rupees ($174 million) through a new fund to tap growing demand for private credit, according to a company executive.

InCred Alternative Investments Pvt will lend to small and mid-size companies, preferably those backed by institutional investors, Saurabh Jhalaria, group’s chief investment officer, said in an interview last week.

The fund-raising underscores the growing need for capital in one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. The country’s private-credit market raised a record $9.3 billion last year, according to Ernst & Young.

“We are looking for an internal rate of return around 16-17% for our performing credit funds,” said Jhalaria. Such funds tend to invest in deals with yields between 12% and 18%, in rupee terms. The first two credit funds raised 14 billion rupees delivering a return of 16.8%, he added.