Topic: How To Invest

Hello, Pat: What is your opinion of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

KKR & Co. L.P. (formerly Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.), $22.37, symbol KKR on New York (Shares outstanding: 415.5 million; Market cap: $17.9 billion; www.kkr.com), is an asset manager with 14 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The company serves three main markets: private (investment funds); public (leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, special situation assets, distressed assets, and rescue, debtor-in-possession and exit financings); and capital (debt/equity financing). KKR had $98.0 billion of assets under administration on June 30, 2014, down from $102.3 billion three months earlier. However, that was because the company took advantage of strong financial markets to sell some of its investments at a profit. These moves included the sale of Oriental Brewery Co. to Anheuser-Busch InBev and helicopter-services firm Avincis to Babcock International Group. The company continues to benefit from low borrowing rates and opportunities to buy firms at attractive prices. Current acquisition targets include Preferred Sands, which supplies sand for hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) to…