Kpler, a leading provider of global physical trade intelligence data and analytics, has announced a minority strategic growth equity investment of more than $1 billion from Sixth Street, a global investment firm with over $130 billion in assets under management. As part of the transaction, management will remain majority owners of the business, Insight Partners will remain a shareholder and roll a portion of its original investment, and Five Arrows — the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co — will exit its position. Evercore acted as the sole financial advisor and Goodwin Procter as the legal advisor to Kpler, while Moelis acted as the sole financial advisor and Milbank as the legal advisor to Sixth Street.
Founded in 2014 by François Cazor and Jean Maynier, Kpler collects and analyzes physical asset data from proprietary and third-party sources to deliver real-time insights to customers across commodities, maritime, and defense end markets. The company pioneered LNG cargo tracking at its founding and has since expanded its capabilities across more than 40 markets including energy, dry bulk, power, and maritime transport. It operates through two complementary platforms — Kpler for commodity intelligence and MarineTraffic for vessel tracking and maritime intelligence — giving customers visibility across the full spectrum of global physical trade.
The investment will support Kpler’s expansion into adjacent markets, acceleration of new product development, and continued pursuit of its targeted growth strategy. Sixth Street’s growth equity platform, which provides capital solutions to mid- and late-stage technology companies, will work closely with Kpler’s management team led by CEO Mark Cunningham. The company’s ability to aggregate, augment, and fuse data at scale across a fragmented physical asset ecosystem was cited as a key differentiator, with customers increasingly relying on the platform for real-time decision making in an era of heightened global trade volatility.
KEY QUOTES:
“For more than a decade, Kpler has been on a mission to bring greater transparency to global trade and empower customers to make smarter decisions. What sets us apart is our ability to combine proprietary data, advanced technology, and deep market expertise to turn complexity into clarity. With Sixth Street’s support, we are accelerating our vision to build a leading global trade intelligence platform, helping customers navigate volatility, uncover opportunities, and trade smarter.”
xFrançois Cazor and Jean Maynier, Co-Founders, Kpler
“Kpler has established itself as the industry standard in global physical trade intelligence, with exceptional accuracy and breadth of coverage. Kpler’s ability to aggregate, augment, and fuse data at scale across a fragmented physical asset ecosystem is highly differentiated, which is why customers increasingly see Kpler as the definitive platform for real-time decision making. We are thrilled to partner with the Kpler team and support them as they embark on this exciting next phase of growth.”
Michael McGinn and Henry Davies, Sixth Street Growth
