KKR says no KPE-like deal for KKR Financial

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, which plans to go public by merging with its Amsterdam-listed investment fund, said on Monday it was not planning a similar transaction for KKR Financial Holdings LLC.

KKR plans to go public through a complicated transaction that involves buying KKR Private Equity Investors LP (KPE), delisting it from Amsterdam and relisting the new company in New York.

But the private equity firm, co-founded by "buyout king" Henry Kravis, is not considering a similar deal for KKR Financial, KKR executives said on a conference call on Monday.

One executive said KKR was not contemplating "doing anything" with KKR Financial at this time.

Shares of KKR Financial, which pays a cash dividend and trades on the New York Stock Exchange, are down 27 percent this year. They were up 27 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $10.25 in morning trading.

The specialty finance company said in February that it had delayed repayment of debt backed by mortgage securities for the second time.

In March, it said it would sell a controlling stake in its real estate investment trust subsidiary and refinance notes to complete its exit from the mortgage-related business.

Founded in July 2004, KKR Financial invests in corporate loans and debt, asset-backed securities and equity securities, according to its website.

(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal; editing by John Wallace)