'India should be a significant part of KKR's global strategy'

Q&A: Sanjay Nayar

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), the global alternate asset management company that Citi CEO (South Asia) Sanjay Nayar is joining, has so far done only two private equity deals in India. But globally, the 32-year-old firm had $53.2 billion assets under management at the end of December 2007. In case of the first deal in India – the $900 million leveraged buyout of Flextronics Software in 2006 – Citi was an advisor. In the second deal – the $250 million investment in tower company Bharti Infratel -- Citi was a co-investor. Nayar told Business Standard that he is looking forward to the challenge of setting up the global major’s operations in India. Excerpts

Was it a tough decision given that you have been at Citi for 23 years?
It was a very difficult decision and something that I spent a lot of time thinking over. This (Citi) was my first job and I have spent 23 years doing it. I knew I wanted to remain in India and I believe this is the right time to try something new. I am excited about the move because there is a long-term vision and philosophy of building a strong platform at KKR. It is a logical move for me to put that vision into action in India.

The announcement may have been made but I intend to stay for some time to help with the transition at Citi. I want to ensure there is a smooth handover because this is a great franchise. There is an excellent team of people here and I believe I am leaving the bank in great hands.

What will be the strategy at KKR?
I am still at Citi (laughs). But I believe KKR will try to build a strong alternative platform that will look at distressed assets, mezzanine financing, infrastructure and real estate, to name a few. Private equity in the traditional sense is only one aspect of it. The approach is to build a broad platform and I believe this is in keeping with the trends. India should be, over time, a significant part of KKR's global and Asian strategy. My skills and experience will come in handy.

But isn’t it going to be difficult in these tough times, more so as the finance space in India is already overcrowded?
I believe there will always be opportunities in India. There is such a need for capital here and there are very few sources at the moment. New capital will eventually come in and long-term strategic capital will go a long way in building upon India's culture of entrepreneurship, and develop business of global scale and leadership.

From the private equity perspective, which are the good sectors at this point of time?
It’s too early to talk about it. I am on the sell side and they are on the buy side. Let me go there first.