Kim K's private equity struggles

Why is Kim Kardashian's SKKY Partners struggling to fundraise?

4/26/24 11:31AM

It's a tale of two fundraising environments.

Kim Kardashian has, so far, only raised $121M out of a targeted $1-2B for her SKKY Partners fund in the last year and a half. KKR, meanwhile, has raised $11B out of a targeted $20B for its Global Infrastructure Investors V fund in the last five months.

Why has Kim Kardashian’s fund struggled so much? Three reasons.

First, total investments and exits in private markets have slowed dramatically since 2021. Bain noted in its 2024 Private Equity Outlook that investment and exit transaction volume are down more than 60% since 2021. Less deals and less exits mean it’s only going to be harder to raise new funding.

Second, first-time fundraising has been hammered especially hard. In 2021, as valuations and deal volume peaked, a wave of first-time fund managers raised capital. However, with deal flow slowing, investors are now applying more scrutiny to where they invest. In their 2024 LP Perspectives Survey, Private Equity International noted that 33% of managers are less likely to invest in first-time managers over the next 12 months.

Additionally, investors have soured on the consumer space, where SKYY Partners is focusing its efforts. According to Reuters, Carlyle, Warburg Pincus, THL, and Centerbridge have all pulled back on consumer investments.

Raising money as a first-time manager to invest in an unpopular market is a tough sell for investors, even if you’re Kim Kardashian.

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JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.