KKR puts IPO plans on hold

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, a 32-year-old private-equity firm, is delaying plans to become a public company, due largely to the credit crisis, which has cut the value of its investments. The New York-based company had initially planned to go public in July 2007 and later announced plans to merge with KKR Private Equity Investors LP, its publicly traded, Amsterdam, Netherlands-based private-equity investment fund, in a deal valued as high as $15 billion. The new entity was set to list on the New York Stock Exchange by yearend, but the transaction won't be completed until next year, according to a statement from KKR & Co. KKR Private Equity Investors reported that net asset value fell to $18.85 per share as of Sept. 30, down from $24.36 per share at the end of December. “As the decline in KKR Private Equity’s quarterly net asset value evidences, some of our investments faced reduced valuations during the third quarter as a result of the extraordinary turbulence in the global capital markets,” KKR co-founder George Roberts said in a statement.