Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has delayed its plans to go public—and shelved, for the time being, its plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange—after it decided to revise its planned reverse-merger with its publicly-listed European affiliate.
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The private equity giant withdrew its registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after it decided to offer better terms to shareholders of KKR Private Equity Investors, its Amsterdam-listed affiliate. KPE shareholders will now own 30% of the combined firm, with KKR executives holding the rest. Originally, KPE shareholders were to get only a 21% stake in a New York-listed KKR.
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The move marks the third postponement of KKR’s plan to go public, first announced nearly two years ago. Last July, after shelving a proposed initial public offering, KKR instead announced plans to effectively buy out KPE. But in November, it delayed those plans, at the time blaming the SEC’s review.
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With the new offer on the table, KPE extended the deadline for the deal’s completion from Aug. 31 to Oct. 31.
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“The independent directors of KPE’s general partners are evaluating KKR’s revised proposal,” KPE said in a statement.
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KPE said investors representing about 44% of its shares have agreed to back the merger.
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If the new deal goes through, KKR will trade for the time being in Amsterdam. The firm has a year after the deal closes to shift the listing from Euronext Amsterdam to the NYSE, which are both owned by NYSE Euronext. After that, it can choose to list the combined business on the NYSE.
