Writing on the wall

Private equity firms like to believe they can outsmart the market. But the market has a way of getting its views across, as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is finding out. The buyout titan has argued it’s worth $12.3bn-$14.8bn, as part of a clever plan to buy its listed European affiliate, KKR Private Equity Investors (KPE). The scheme allows Henry Kravis, KKR’s co-founder, to gain a stock market listing in the midst of a financial crisis without a conventional public offering. But he may have been too ...