NEW YORK — A unit of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., one of the world’s largest private-equity firms, on Wednesday said it has delayed payment on millions in loans and opened debt-restructuring talks with creditors.
It was the second time the fixed-income fund KKR Financial Holdings LLC, an affiliate of the U.S. buyout shop, has put off repaying asset-backed commercial paper. The fund, which invests in corporate debt and mortgages, did not provide details of how much debt was affected or the amount of collateral securing the debt, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
KKR said it has postponed the repayment of some of its debt due last Friday by two weeks in order to complete talks with noteholders.
“We will continue to work with the noteholders to determine if there is a further restructuring that will protect the noteholders and provide KFN shareholders the ability to recover some of the equity that was previously written off,” the company said in a statement. “If we cannot come to agreement with the noteholders, they will take the underlying collateral as contemplated by the October restructuring.”
The financial company said its exposure to the residential mortgage market was $337.6 million as of Dec. 31, and it holds no investments that are off its balance sheet. KKR said it has $287.8 million of mortgage-backed securities rated investment grade or higher, while the rest was below investment grade.
