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The US has sued private equity giant KKR, alleging the investment group “systematically ignored” its requests to provide standard pre-merger filings to antitrust regulators and enforcers during the 2021 and 2022 deal wave.
The lawsuit follows protracted settlement negotiations between KKR and the Justice Department where both sides reached an impasse over DoJ demands for a large fine and the installation of an agency monitor inside the New York-based private equity pioneer, according to a securities filing and people knowledgeable in the matter.
The lawsuit is one of the latest attempts by the DoJ’s antitrust unit to thwart anti-competitive private equity deals after Jonathan Kanter, the recently fired chief, cracked down on buyout groups that had taken over large parts of the U.S. economy.
KKR contests the execution with a counterclaim. The firm, which manages more than $500 billion in assets, said the filing failures were “nonsensical and unintentional” and characterized the action as an attempt to “weaponize” confusing financial documents ahead of the leadership transition from President Joe Biden to President-elect Donald Trump.
The DoJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on KKR’s counterclaim.
This is a developing story
