When one of the world’s largest private equity firms goes public on the New York stock exchange after being bitten by the unrelenting fangs of the credit crunch, then times indeed are changing.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has suffered as a result of no longer being able to obtain cheap loans to finance deals.
The process will involve the company buying its Amsterdam-listed investment fund and then listing it in New York. The original plan was to sell £0.6 billion worth of shares to the public but this fell through given current market mayhem.
Those shareholders with current shares in the Amsterdam-listed fund, KKR Private Equity Investors will own 21% of the public company whilst KKR Executives will own the remaining 79%.
Instead of relying solely on banks and big lenders, the company will be able to finance investments through the sale of its shares to shareholders and will provide more options when looking to raise capital for projects.
KKR’s investments include Toys R Us and Boots.
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