KKR to Sell Shares, Board OKs Offering

KKR Financial Holdings LLC has agreed to sell 16 million of its common shares to seven unaffiliated institutional investors in separately negotiated transactions and its board of directors has approved a public rights offering of up to $270.0 million to its common shareholders.The investors in the 16 million shares are certain funds managed by Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C., Fir Tree Partners, JGE Capital Management, Marsico Capital Management, Morgan Stanley, Oak Hill Advisors, and Sageview Capital LP, according to the company. The proceeds from the 16 million shares total $230.4 million, KKR Financial Holdings said. The publicly traded affiliate of buyout firm Kohlberg, Kravitz, Roberts & Co. had previously said after suffering damage from the market's credit crunch that it no longer intends to invest in residential home loan assets and would dispose of its portfolio either through runoff or through a "strategic alternative," which may include a sale of the common stock of its real estate investment trust subsidiary. KKR can be found online at http://www.kkrfinancial.com.