First Kohlberg Kravis Roberts took one big step for fund-kind across the pond with a May 3 initial public offering of KKR Private Equity Investors, and now Apollo Management is on the launching pad for a private equity IPO of its own. The Deal reports that Apollo is expected to list the offering as a 144A private placement on Euronext in Amsterdam in a couple of weeks. By using a 144A placement – which, under Securities and Exchange Commission rules, provides a non-exclusive safe harbor from registration requirements for resales of certain securities to “qualified institutional buyers” – Apollo hopes to hop, skip and jump into the minds and wallets of investors quickly, rather than wait up to six months for a traditional IPO on the exchange. Citing sources, The Deal says half of the $1.5 billion offering will invest in “traditional private equity,” while the remainder will go to “strategic value” investments and a European mezzanine offering. Apollo, according to The Deal, wants to avoid the lengthy listing requirements in the Netherlands by incorporating in the relatively lax Guernsey. That should make investors happy, as most vehicles make funders wait for the firm to take the money it raises and invests, and then wait again for the returns to start flowing in. Meanwhile, the Amsterdam-listed KKR Private Equity Investors was trading Monday at $23.70, more than a dollar below its opening price three weeks ago.
