(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. has raised more than 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) at the first close for its latest European buyout fund, people familiar with the matter said. 

The private equity firm has already topped the amount of committed capital from its last vehicle focused on the region, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. It’s continuing to collect further commitments for the new pool, the people said, without specifying the final target. 

A representative for KKR declined to comment. 

New York-based KKR stood out during the pandemic for deploying record amounts of money while most private equity peers stayed on the sidelines. It’s recently been focusing heavily on technology and health-care investments as it seeks to ride societal trends like the aging population. 

The private equity firm agreed in December to invest in the supply chain business of warehouse management software maker Koerber AG. 

KKR’s current fundraising is the first under Mattia Caprioli and Philipp Freise, who took over leadership of its private equity business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2019. 

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