private equity investors

KKR delays public listing

Jim Kim — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:50:51 -0500

Many of you likely thought it was ambitious of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to plow forward to a public listing. The environment is hardly welcoming right now. So it's not really a surprise that the private equity giant has postponed plans for its going-public transaction to 2009, according to media reports. Previously, the deal was planned for sometime in 2008. KKR made headlines when it announced it will list on the NYSE Euronext via a takeover of its Amsterdam-listed investment fund, KKR Private Equity Investors, which continues to flag. The transaction would have killed two birds with one stone, listing KKR and shoring up KKR Private Equity. But the financial markets will not allow for it just yet. It's unclear if KKR Private Equity Investors will need some sort of capital injection. Recall that Carlyle Capital Corp., an affiliate of Carlyle Group, was also listed in Amsterdam; it went bankrupt in March.

For more:
- here's the CNNMoney article

KKR to go public after all

Jim Kim — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:18:24 -0400

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has found a way to go public after all. Recall that its attempt last year was scotched by Blackstone Group's poor aftermarket performance and a sudden downturn in the credit markets. But the storied private equity firm has announced a deal that calls for it to buy its publicly traded affiliate, KKR Private Equity Investors, which is listed on the Euronext in Amsterdam, for about $4 billion. The result is that the entire firm will publicly trade. Its strikes me as a reverse merger of sorts. Unlike the Blackstone Group, no executive will cash out immediately. The New York Times notes all have vesting periods of up to eight years. Seventy-nine percent of shares will stay with executives. This looms as a source of additional capital that its competitors cannot ignore. Others will feel pressure to follow suit.

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

Will CEO turmoil continue?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

We've seen a lot of high profile CEO lose their jobs. Stanley O'Neal. Chuck Prince. Jimmy Cayne. But at least one MarketWatch commentator thinks at least two other fairly big name CEOs ought to be similarly shown the door. He says that Ken Thompson, of Wachovia, and Kerry Killinger, of Washington Mutual, "were exposed as overhyped pedestrian CEOs this week." Ouch! PR folks, do something. Killinger was rapped for the $1.1 billion loss and the required dilutive $7 billion capital infusion from private equity investors. Thomson was pilloried for the disastrous Golden West purchase. The jury remains out on several CEOs, including Ken Lewis of Bank of America, who's betting big on Countrywide.

For more:
- here's the commentary

SPOTLIGHT: SWFs

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:52 -0400

New Dealogic data show that investments by sovereign wealth funds hit $25 billion in the first quarter, compared with $3.9 billion last year. SWFs accounted for about half the global volume of private equity investors. Article