KKR & Co L.P. (NYSE: KKR) today announced that its first listed
closed-end fund, KKR Income Opportunities Fund, has successfully
completed its initial public offering and began trading on the New York
Stock Exchange on July 26 under the symbol “KIO.”
The Fund raised $305 million in its common share offering, excluding any
exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares. If
the underwriters exercise that option in full, which may or may not
occur, the Fund will have raised $352 million.
“Increasingly, individual investors are seeking exposure to strategies
to diversify beyond traditional long only equity and bond funds. We
believe that alternative investments represent an important aspect of
all investors’ asset allocation as they can deliver attractive
risk-adjusted returns. We’re pleased by investors’ reception of KKR’s
first entry into the closed-end marketplace,” said George Roberts,
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR.
KKR Asset Management LLC (“KAM”) serves as the Fund’s investment
adviser. Launched in 2004, KAM is a subsidiary of KKR. KAM is a leading
manager of non-investment grade debt and public equities. Its investment
teams, which are organized by industry, invest across the capital
structure with the goal of protecting capital and achieving attractive
risk-adjusted returns. The investment process for the Fund is
substantially based on the investment process of KAM’s High Yield, Bank
Loans and Special Situations strategies. The Fund will be managed by
Chris Sheldon and Erik Falk, co-heads of Leveraged Credit, and Nat
Zilkha and Jamie Weinstein, co-heads of Special Situations.
KKR Income Opportunities Fund is a recently organized non-diversified,
closed-end management investment company. The Fund’s primary investment
objective is to seek a high level of current income with a secondary
objective of capital appreciation. The Fund will seek to achieve its
investment objective by investing primarily in first- and second-lien
secured loans, unsecured loans and high yield corporate debt
instruments. It will employ a dynamic strategy of investing in a
targeted portfolio of loans and fixed-income instruments of U.S. and
non-U.S. issuers and implementing hedging strategies in order to seek to
achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns.
Lead managers of the underwriting syndicate were Morgan Stanley,
Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank. KKR’s strategic advisor and
distribution manager was Four Wood Capital Partners LLC (FWCP), an
independent investment management and advisory services firm. Advisors
Asset Management Inc., an investment solutions partner for advisors and
Broker/Dealers offering a vast array of financial tools, leading
technologies and industry expertise, also acted as a sub-contracted
distribution partner to FWCP.
The Fund is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management
investment company with no operating history. Investors should consider
the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully
before investing.
The investment return, price, yields, market value and net asset value
(NAV) of a fund's shares will fluctuate with market conditions.
Closed-end funds frequently trade at a discount to their NAV, which may
increase an investor’s risk of loss. At the time of sale, your shares
may have a market price that is above or below NAV, and may be worth
more or less than your original investment. There is no assurance that
the Fund will meet its investment objective.
An investment in the Fund is not appropriate for all investors and is
not intended to be a complete investment program. The Fund is designed
as a long-term investment and not as a trading vehicle. Investors should
carefully review and consider the Fund’s investment objective, risk,
charges and expenses before investing.
The prospectus,
which contains this and other information about the Fund, should be read
carefully before investing. A copy of the prospectus can be obtained
from KKR by visiting www.kkrfunds.com/kio,
by contacting your financial advisor or by calling (855) 859-3943.
Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and it is possible
to lose money by investing in the Fund. Past performance is not a
guarantee of future results. Please see the Fund’s prospectus for more
risk information.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements that may include
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal
securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical
fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements." The
forward-looking statements are based on the Fund’s and KKR's beliefs,
assumptions and expectations of its future performance, taking into
account all information currently available to it. These beliefs,
assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible
events or factors, not all of which are known to the Fund or KKR or are
within their control. The Fund and KKR do not undertake any obligation
to update any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or
events that occur after the date on which such statements were made
except as required by law.
This document is not an offer to sell securities and is not
soliciting an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction where the
offer or sale is not permitted.
About KKR Asset Management
Launched by KKR in 2004, KAM invests on behalf of its managed funds,
clients and accounts across long/short equities and the corporate credit
spectrum, including secured credit, bank loans and high yield securities
and alternative assets such as mezzanine financing, special situations
investing and structured finance. With more than 100 employees,
including 70 investment professionals, KAM's investment teams are
closely aligned with KKR's wealth of private equity investment and
industry resources. KAM has $29.0 billion in assets under management as
of June 30, 2013.
About KKR
Founded in 1976 and led by Henry
Kravis and George
Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $83.5 billion
in assets under management as of June 30, 2013. With offices around the
world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and
accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by
bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through
active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR complements its
investment expertise and strengthens interactions with fund investors
through its client relationships and capital markets platform. KKR & Co.
L.P. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR), and
“KKR,” as used in this release, includes its subsidiaries, their managed
investment funds and accounts, and/or their affiliated investment
vehicles, as appropriate.
Copyright Business Wire 2013