KKR to Pursue Opportunities in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification Industry in Collaboration with Andy Silvernail and Amit Agarwal

KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced a strategic partnership with Amit Agarwal, a former senior executive of Thermo Fisher and Omega Engineering, and Andy Silvernail, KKR Executive Advisor and the former Chairman and CEO of IDEX Corporation, to acquire and build businesses in the Testing, Inspection, and Certification (“TIC”) industry.

KKR’s Ascendant strategy is committing up to $250 million in funding for the new executive-led platform, which will have a flexible mandate to invest in leading TIC outsourced services and instrumentation manufacturing and distribution capabilities for attractive end-markets. Mr. Agarwal will lead the platform as Chief Executive Officer, working closely with Mr. Silvernail, who will serve as Chairman.

“I am thrilled to collaborate with Andy and the KKR team to find, acquire and develop attractive businesses in the TIC industry, which is a more than $330 billion global market across instrumentation and services,” said Mr. Agarwal.¹ “We believe our experience growing highly innovative and technical businesses positions us as a value-add strategic partner to TIC companies that provide specialized tools and services for sectors benefiting from attractive long-term tailwinds. I’m particularly encouraged by KKR’s approach to creating lasting value through shared ownership and employee engagement, which resonates with my approach to leadership.”

Mr. Silvernail, Mr. Agarwal and KKR plan to build a scaled TIC platform through multiple acquisitions and driving breakthrough operating performance. “I am excited to work together with Amit to build a leading business in the TIC industry. This is an attractive space, benefiting from mission critical products and services, favorable long-term growth trends and a fragmented market structure across both instrumentation and services,” said Mr. Silvernail.

The platform is part of KKR’s Ascendant strategy, which invests in middle market businesses in North America as part of KKR’s Americas Private Equity platform. KKR Ascendant pursues investments across seven dedicated industry vertical teams and seeks to deploy the full resources of KKR to support management teams in growing market-leading businesses.

“We look forward to working with Andy and Amit, both proven leaders and innovators, to acquire high quality businesses and build a scaled player in the TIC industry with an integrated suite of best-in-class capabilities,” said Brandon Brahm, Partner and Co-Head of KKR’s Ascendant strategy. “Executive-led platforms are an important element of our middle-market strategy and we believe KKR’s ability to recruit world-class talent creates exciting opportunities to build great companies in attractive, but historically fragmented industries.”