It was back in 1976 that former Bear Stearns Cos. (NYSE: BSC) investment bankers -- Henry Kravis and George Roberts – started a small buyout fund, KKR. It was a new concept but it grew quickly. Now, the firm is one of the largest private equity powerhouses in the world. And, like other firms such as the Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX), it has decided to go public.
KKR has about $59.7 billion under management. Last year, the firm generated a juicy $410 million in fee income and $4 billion in investment income. Yes, it's a nice business – and so expect KKR to have a strong IPO.
With the proceeds of the IPO, KKR plans to expand its operations in Europe and Asia, as well as move into new investment categories.
The lead underwriters include Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). The proposed ticker is KKR.
You can find the prospectus at the SEC website. And if you want to see more recent IPO filings, click here.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.
