KKR has announced the launch of Akrapoint Commercial Capital, a new equipment finance platform backed by a $350 million capital commitment from investment funds managed by KKR. The investment will be made through KKR’s Asset Based Finance strategy, providing Akrapoint with long-term institutional capital to finance essential equipment for small and middle-market businesses throughout the United States.
Akrapoint will focus on mid-ticket financing for vocational equipment, specialty trailers, and industrial assets, serving businesses across manufacturing, energy, power, sanitation, waste services, construction, transportation, and logistics.
The platform is designed to connect equipment manufacturers, vendors, and commercial customers with flexible financing arrangements that support equipment acquisitions and business expansion.
Akrapoint will be led by Nate Smith, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, who previously spent nearly a decade at Trans Lease. During his tenure, Smith oversaw credit, portfolio management, funding, and compliance while expanding the company’s capital markets capabilities.
Gary Shivers will serve as Chairman of Akrapoint’s Board of Directors. Shivers brings approximately 30 years of equipment finance experience and previously founded and expanded Navitas Credit Corp. into a national platform with more than $1.8 billion in assets. Earlier in his career, he co-founded and held senior leadership positions at Advanta Leasing Corp. and Marlin Business Services.
The launch expands KKR’s presence in asset-backed lending, an area where the investment firm has substantially increased its scale over the past decade. Established in 2016, KKR’s Asset Based Finance strategy now manages more than $91 billion in assets and employs approximately 60 investment professionals globally.
KKR’s asset-backed finance portfolio includes more than 20 captive platforms spanning consumer and mortgage finance, commercial finance, hard assets, and contractual cash flows. Akrapoint will expand the firm’s equipment finance capabilities while providing businesses with financing for assets essential to their operations.
Support: Nomura Securities International served as financial advisor, while Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel to KKR in connection with the transaction.
KEY QUOTES:
“Demand for vocational, specialty trailer and industrial equipment is growing fast, and the operators who run that equipment need a financing partner who understands their business. Akrapoint was built to meet this growing need, pairing disciplined underwriting with KKR’s long-term capital so mid-ticket equipment operators have a financing partner they can count on through every cycle.”
Nate Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Akrapoint Commercial Capital
“As reshoring, electrification and supply chain resilience drive a multi-year capital spending cycle, demand for essential equipment keeps climbing. Akrapoint’s asset-backed cash flows offer compelling downside protection that aligns well with our long-term capital, and we believe Nate, Gary and their team are well positioned to build a leading platform in the space.”
Daniel Pietrzak, Partner and Global Head of Private Credit at KKR
