Akrapoint Commercial Capital is a new lender for equipment used to get work done, from vocational assets and specialty trailers to industrial machinery. KKR announced that funds it manages will commit $350 million through its asset-based finance strategy to launch the Denver company.
Akrapoint isn’t an equipment maker. It plans to connect manufacturers and equipment vendors with customers that need financing to purchase and use their products. The business will underwrite mid-ticket transactions, making the financed equipment part of the credit relationship.
The company is targeting small and middle-market customers in manufacturing, energy and power, sanitation and waste services, construction, transportation and logistics. That breadth means the same financing platform will evaluate assets used in very different operating environments instead of building around one equipment category.
KKR’s wording matters. The $350 million is a commitment supporting the launch, not a claim that Akrapoint has already originated that volume of customer financing. The announcement doesn’t disclose how quickly the capital will be drawn or what mix of financing products the company will offer.
CEO Nate Smith previously spent nearly a decade at Trans Lease, where he ran credit, portfolio management, funding and compliance. Board chair Gary Shivers founded Navitas Credit and held senior roles at two other equipment-finance businesses. Those backgrounds cover much of the work required to build and manage a lending portfolio.
Akrapoint is one piece of KKR’s broader asset-based finance operation. KKR says that strategy spans consumer and mortgage finance, commercial finance, hard assets and contractual cash flows, with more than 20 captive platforms. The new company adds a dedicated channel for KKR-managed capital to reach equipment purchases by smaller businesses.
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