KSL closes $1.1bn private equity fund

KSL Capital Partners, a private equity fund specializing in the travel and leisure sector, has closed its new fund on about $1.1bn, outraising its original target of $750m.

Denver-based private equity fund KSL Capital Partners has closed its new fund on approximately $1.1 billion (€864 million), more than the $750 million it had initially targeted.

The fund is the successor vehicle to KSL Recreation, which was a portfolio company of private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

The new fund has already completed its inaugural investment, acquiring the 444-room Rancho Los Palmas Resort & Spa in Rancho Mirage, California, from Chicago hotelier Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $56 million (€44 million).

Investors in the new fund include public and private pension funds, foundations, endowments, funds of funds and high-net-worth individuals. Toronto-based pension plan investor CPP Investment Board announced that they had committed $107 million (€84 million) to the fund to be drawn down over five years, and the Oregon Public Employees’ Retirement Fund reported a commitment of $100 million (€78.6 million) in March.

KSL also announced the hiring of two new principals: Bernie Siegel, the former chief investment officer of Destination Hotels & Resorts; and Marty Newburger, a former senior investment banker with Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.