KKR Financial Holdings, the listed affiliate of the private equity group, has delayed repayment of billions of dollars of commercial paper for the second time and begun a new round of restructuring talks with creditors less than six months after a rescue rights issue.

In a regulatory filing yesterday, KKR Financial Holdings (KFN) said it had begun talks with creditors and deferred repayment of a chunk of debt due last Friday. The move is a further embarrassment for KKR, following a $270m bail-out of the leveraged investment vehicle last September, which saw founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts personally inject cash.