KKR - A Black Stone or a Black Rock?
KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.), the firm that bought out RJR Nabisco. This event was chronicled in the book Barbarians at the Gate. Now they are planning to take KKR public, as explained in this Associated Press article KKR to go public on NYSE via fund takeover.
NEW YORK (AP) — Private equity powerhouse Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said Monday a plan to go public through a takeover of its Amsterdam-listed investment fund gives it access to new markets to make acquisitions and provides the European shareholders better value.Well, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. The major investors will have to decide whether KKR is a Black stone or a Black rock. There is a big difference whether one wins or loses. Notice the chart below.
BX is The Blackstone Group and BLK is BlackRock, Inc.
In fact, there's another article published by Portfolio.com, K.K.R.'s Big Plans that thinks similar thoughts:
Henry Kravis is, at long last, taking buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. public, but a look at the deal and the firm's ambitions means management may want it to look more like BlackRock than Steve Schwarzman's Blackstone.When Blackstone went public last year, it was a spectacle as dollar signs danced in the heads of Wall Street. Now, the stock has essentially been cut in half as buyout deals have gotten less attractive as their costs have risen.