Obviously, it's a punishing time to go public if you're a private equity firm or hedge fund. The most recent floats have not lit up the world. The Blackstone Group has yet to recover its IPO price. While all eyes remain on Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, another financial services firm has found a novel way to sell initial shares. American Capital Strategies, a lender for mid-sized deals, will sell shares to underwriters via forward-sale agreements that allow the banks to purchase the shares in block of million as demand for their clients dictate, according to Financial News Online. One such sale has already been effected. Hopefully, investor appetite will be enhanced later this year, assuming some of the current issues are worked through. Not sure how the sale price will be affected.  

For more:
- here's an article from Financial News Online

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