New York: KKR & Co, the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, filed to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, as it seeks a wider investor base in the United States.

KKR Guernsey, the firm's existing publicly-traded unit in Amsterdam, will be dissolved, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday. KKR Guernsey shareholders, who will receive one US share for each they already own, will have 30 per cent of the New York company, and KKR executives the rest.

A US listing would clear the way for KKR to issue additional stock, tapping public shareholders to raise money, and enable firm insiders to eventually cash out their stakes if they so choose. The shares now trading in Amsterdam carry restrictions that require US purchasers to meet certain criteria before buying the stock.

"From an investor's perspective, you get a step up in liquidity," said Michael Kim, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP in New York, who estimates that KKR may list on the NYSE by the end of June. "From KKR's perspective, this gives them a greater ability to retain talent and to make acquisitions."

KKR merged with its publicly traded European fund on October 1 to gain a listing in Europe, after dropping plans for an initial public offering (IPO) amid the credit crisis. The pace of leveraged buyouts and the valuations of the companies KKR owns have since picked up as debt and equity markets thawed.

"Our decision to pursue a US listing is based on our conclusion that the US listing will benefit KKR Guernsey unitholders over the long term," the 34-year-old firm said in Friday's filing. "The US listing offers the opportunity to invest in our business, attract and incentivise world-class people, and enhance the diversity, scale and capital of our business."

More trading

Blackstone Group LP, the private-equity company, went public in New York in 2007, just before the financial crisis. On average 14 times more Blackstone shares trade each day in New York than KKR units in Amsterdam, according to data compiled by Bloomberg over the past 12 months.

Kravis and Roberts haven't sold shares during the New York listing process and haven't indicated any plans to do so. Blackstone Group LP founders Stephen Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson netted $2.56 billion (Dh9.4 billion) between them from their firm's IPO.

KKR Guernsey rose 53 cents, or 4.8 per cent, to $11.65 in Amsterdam trading on Friday, valuing the firm at about $8 billion.