KKR

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Half a Trillion Dollars and Nowhere to Spend It

(Newser) - Seems the titans of Wall Street, and here we mean the private equity buyout shops including Warburg Pincus, Carlyle, TPG, and KKR, have amassed $500 billion to buy companies. Their problem? Not enough to buy and rising prices for what is out there. Plus it's a lot harder to leverage...

Private Equity Giants See Big Payday—If They Don't Go Bust

All the major players have survived so far

(Newser) - None of the major players in the "shadow banking" world of private equity—the likes of Blackstone, Carlyle, and KKR—has yet gone bust, and the guessing game of which one will be first is well under way, reports Newser founder Michael Wolff in Vanity Fair. Don't hold your...

Investors Eye Airports, Bridges, Roads

Subprime-weary banks earmark $250B for infrastructure projects

(Newser) - Weary of investments infected by the subprime contagion, investors are looking to purchase and operate some more substantial assets: the nation’s bridges, toll roads, and airports, reports the New York Times. Goldman Sachs, KKR, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse are among those who have stockpiled some $250 billion for...

Storied Equity Firm KKR Goes Public Today

Firm's aggressive moves inspired Barbarians at the Gate

(Newser) - Legendary buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.—battling the credit crunch and moribund in the deal-making department this year—will go public this morning in an attempt to kick-start its business and take over its flagging European affiliate, reports the Wall Street Journal. KKR could be worth up...

Markets Drop as KKR Unit Delays Payment

Concern about liquidity in the US has investors selling off in Asia

(Newser) - Asian stocks slumped today after reports in the Financial Times that a struggling arm of private equity heavyweight Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. missed a second payment on billions of dollars of commercial debt just 6 months after two of its founders poured $270 million into the company. Investors cashed out as...

KKR Abandons Harman Buyout
KKR Abandons Harman Buyout

KKR Abandons Harman Buyout

Suitor cites 'material adverse change' in target's performance

(Newser) - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs today called off their deal to buy out audio giant Harman International for $8 billion. The firms announced that a "material adverse change in Harman's business has occurred,'' one of the limited circumstances in which they could abandon the deal without getting...

KKR Prepares for Test of Credit Markets

Fate of pending deals may foretell future of private equity

(Newser) - Kolhberg Kravis Roberts is pushing forward with some of the biggest deals in US history, but the iconic buyout firm finds itself under unprecedented scrutiny. Analysts say the huge deals KKR has pending will be a test of the struggling credit markets, the Washington Post reports: If they don't go...

Credit Jitters May Put KKR Offering on Ice

Private equity firm denies reports its IPO will be delayed

(Newser) - The Times of London claims that buyout firm KKR has postponed plans for a $1.25B float and a public listing because of the fallout from turbulent credit markets. The company had planned its IPO this September but has reportedly pulled back due to waning investor confidence following the subprime...

$24B Buyout Buzz Boosts Macy's Shares

KKR and Goldman considering offer

(Newser) - Shares in Macy's soared amid reports of a pending $24-billion buyout plan by KKR and Goldman Sachs, reports Bloomberg. Stock rose $3.06—7.6%—to $43.09 after Women's Wear Daily reported the news. The Wall Street firms would pay $52 a share—a 30% premium on Wednesday's close,...

KKR Makes IPO Official
KKR Makes
IPO Official

KKR Makes IPO Official

Private equity behemoth follows Blackstone into the public pool

(Newser) - Undeterred by the possibility of potentially devastatingly tax-law changes, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts firmed up its IPO plans today, filing SEC documents that value the issue at up to $1.25 billion. The private (for now) equity firm said it will list as a partnership, like archrival Blackstone, which went public...

KKR Joins IPO Party
KKR Joins
IPO Party

KKR Joins IPO Party

After Blackstone's triumph, barbarians at the public gate

(Newser) - Corporate raiders Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have announced an initial public offering, on the heels of a wildly successful $34B IPO by rival Blackstone yesterday. The mammoth LBO group, whose boss Henry Kravis maintains a well known rivalry with Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzmann, waited to make sure Blackstone swam before...

Blackstone IPO Fetches $4.13B
Blackstone IPO Fetches $4.13B

Blackstone IPO Fetches $4.13B

Private equity giant enjoys largest US debut in 5 years; Schwarzman enjoys largest share

(Newser) - The Blackstone Group went public today, selling 133.3 million shares at $31 and raking in $4.13 billion, the largest American IPO since 2002. The keenly anticipated issue values the private equity firm, founded by Stephen Schwarzman 27 years ago with $400,000, at $33.5 billion; the price...

KKR Buyout Spree Hits a Snag
KKR Buyout Spree Hits a Snag

KKR Buyout Spree Hits a Snag

Traditional investors tapped out; equity firm looking elsewhere

(Newser) - Buyout giant KKR's $26B acquisition of electronic payment processor First Data Corp is not going smoothly, reports the Wall Street Journal. Once enthusiastic investors are shying away from private equity deals as interest rates steepen. "We have enough exposure to KKR already," said one major financier.

Blackstone Makes $7.8B Deal for Alliance

Private equity continues to pour into financial processing

(Newser) - Blackstone has snapped up credit card services provider Alliance Data for $7.8 billion, joining a surge of private equity into dull but profitable back-office firms. The 30% above-market offer for Alliance, which also runs a data processing unit, is the latest in a wave of takeovers in the financial-processing...

KKR Dominates in '07 Buyouts
KKR Dominates in '07 Buyouts

KKR Dominates in '07 Buyouts

With 44% of this year's private equity deals, is firm spending too much too fast?

(Newser) - Private equity powerhouse KKR has been on a monumental spending spree this year, closing more than $120 billion in deals to date in 2007—more than twice its closest rival. Now the Financial Times wonders whether the veteran PE firm it may be hitting the market too forcefully.

15 Stories