The public shares of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have attracted major hedge funds. And there is an interesting tale about why the stock is widely seen as a good bet.
Notably, James Chanos, the famed short seller who runs Kynikos Associates, is among those who bought KKR. Others are JP Morgan Highbridge, the bank’s hedge fund business, and Fortress Group—also a publicly traded alternative investment specialist like KKR.
Then there’s the big Chicago manager Balyasny. Also Leon Cooperman, founder of Omega Advisors, who was an early fan of KKR.
Why KKR? Well, one reason you hear is that the company is not heavily indebted. This is a remarkable turn for leveraged buyout pioneer Henry Kravis—while taking his private equity business public, he’s kept its leverage low. According to Zachs, KKR has the second lowest debt-to-capital ratio in the asset management and custody bank industry.
The firm managed $61 billion as of last year. It went public – or rather, transferred its common shares from Euronext Amsterdam to NYSE – in July 2010, after an early plan for an IPO was derailed by the financial crisis.
Tags: Balyasny, Fortress Group, James Chanos, JP Morgan Highbridge, Kynikos Associates, Leon Cooperman, Omega Advisors
HedgeFundSmarts 
January 8, 2013 at 6:28 pm
[…] Other funds also went for KKR shares; the stock was popular and recovered from the 2009 low. Still, it remains slightly below the initial public offering price. […]