Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Allen & Gledhill have advised Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and the management of Unisteel Technology International on the sale of Singapore engineering solutions provider Unisteel to Switzerland’s SFS Group, represented by WongPartnership, for an undisclosed sum.

Hong Kong partner Kathryn Sudol led the Simpson Thacher team, alongside corporate partner Sinead O’Shea, Palo Alto-based tax partner Katharine Moir, and David Vann in London.

The purchase of Unisteel, which has production facilities in China and Malaysia, will create a combined business with over 7,000 employees spanning Europe, Asia and North America.

Reuters reports that the deal, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, marks KKR’s first full exit from an asset in its first pan-Asia fund, after acquiring Unisteel through a leveraged buyout for $575 million in 2008.

Global private equity firms are increasingly tapping into Asian emerging markets like China, India and more recently, Indonesia. KKR is currently among the bidders for Indonesia's private healthcare operator Siloam.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.

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