KKR Taps Asset-Backed Debt to Kick In More Money for Its Funds

With commitments totaling roughly $25 billion,
KKR & Co. and its executives lead the private equity industry when it comes to investing in their own funds.

Yet there’s more to this figure than KKR reports in earnings calls and press releases. For the past several years, the firm has been financing a portion of its investments in KKR funds through an obscure corner of the market for asset-backed securities.

Behind the scenes, KKR raises some of the cash it vows to invest in new funds by selling a portion of its stakes in existing ones. The firm bundles the prior ...