KKR aims to take role of banks with IPO

(Reuters) - Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said in its IPO prospectus earlier this week that the $1.25 billion offering will allow the firm to expand its ability to syndicate equity and reduce reliance on third-party sources of capital.




Syndicating leveraged buyout equity is normally the role of investment banks. Does KKR wish to cut banks entirely out of the LBO process? The answer is no, sources close to the firm say, since the firm will still rely on banks to handle the debt borrowed for the deals.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

France seeks IMF job but Europe's grip challenged

(Reuters) - France revealed on Friday that it wanted to reclaim the leadership of the International Monetary Fund and Poland said it could field a rival candidate as calls intensified for the abolition of Europe's monopoly of the job.

President Nicolas Sarkozy planned to use a Sunday newspaper interview to propose Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a Socialist former finance minister with solid political and economic credentials, to become the IMF's new managing director, a presidential palace source in Paris said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

European Government Bonds Decline in Week on Outlook for Higher ECB Rates

(Bloomberg) -- European government bonds dropped this
week, extending the worst quarterly slump in almost eight years,
after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet
signaled policy makers may raise interest rates further by year-
end.

Benchmark debt dropped, sending 10-year bund yields to near
a five-year high, as Trichet said inflation in the euro region
needs ``careful monitoring'' after the ECB kept its key rate at 4
percent. Bunds also fell yesterday after a report showed
manufacturing orders in Germany rose more than expected in May.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News