NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange later this year in a complicated transaction that involves merging with its publicly listed Amsterdam investment fund, two sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Under terms of the deal, KKR Private Equity Investors (KPE) would be delisted and KPE holders would receive 21 percent equity interest in KKR, one source said.
The transaction is expected in the fourth quarter, the sources said. KKR filed its registration statement to go public in July 2007.
The move comes at a difficult time for the private equity industry, which has struggled to put capital to work amid a dearth of financing for deals.
Rival Blackstone Group LP <BX.N> went public in June 2007, just before the credit crunch, and its shares, which listed at $31, are currently trading sharply lower. Blackstone shares closed on Friday at $17.01 on the New York Stock Exchange.
For KKR, a listing, which was signaled a year ago, will allow it to have a more permanent capital base, use stock to retain and attract staff and have currency to make acquisitions, one source said.
The July 3, 2007, IPO filing that KKR made will be morphed into the Amsterdam/NYSE filing, the source said.
The deal also addresses a concern that KPE's stock has been illiquidly traded. Under the deal, KKR is giving KPE stockholders an insurance policy that if the stock does not trade at specified levels, KKR will give up to an additional 6 percent ownership in the company, the source said.
The founders will not be taking any cash out of the company in the listing, the source said.
(Additional reporting by Anupreeta Das in San Francisco; editing by Maureen Bavdek) Keywords: KKR/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com ak COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
Under terms of the deal, KKR Private Equity Investors (KPE) would be delisted and KPE holders would receive 21 percent equity interest in KKR, one source said.
The transaction is expected in the fourth quarter, the sources said. KKR filed its registration statement to go public in July 2007.
The move comes at a difficult time for the private equity industry, which has struggled to put capital to work amid a dearth of financing for deals.
Rival Blackstone Group LP <BX.N> went public in June 2007, just before the credit crunch, and its shares, which listed at $31, are currently trading sharply lower. Blackstone shares closed on Friday at $17.01 on the New York Stock Exchange.
For KKR, a listing, which was signaled a year ago, will allow it to have a more permanent capital base, use stock to retain and attract staff and have currency to make acquisitions, one source said.
The July 3, 2007, IPO filing that KKR made will be morphed into the Amsterdam/NYSE filing, the source said.
The deal also addresses a concern that KPE's stock has been illiquidly traded. Under the deal, KKR is giving KPE stockholders an insurance policy that if the stock does not trade at specified levels, KKR will give up to an additional 6 percent ownership in the company, the source said.
The founders will not be taking any cash out of the company in the listing, the source said.
(Additional reporting by Anupreeta Das in San Francisco; editing by Maureen Bavdek) Keywords: KKR/ tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com ak COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.