LEX Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is trying to make the best of a bad situation. Its decision to put off a New York Stock Exchange listing and pursue a planned merger with KKR Private Equity Investors, an Amsterdam-listed affiliate, amounts to a holding action, but one that has potential benefits for both sides.
If KPE investors approve the move – institutional holders with 44 per cent have indicated they would accept a deal along the lines proposed – KKR would acquire its long-sought stock market listing through a reverse merger, albeit in Amsterdam rather than New York, and without the issue of new shares.
