KKR, Bain to Take Third HCA Payout as Debt Looks Better Than IPO

KKR & Co. and Bain Capital LLC’s decision to pay themselves a $2 billion dividend from HCA Inc. shows that the 82 percent surge in high-yield bonds since 2009 is making it more attractive for buyout firms to pile more debt on their companies than to take them public.

HCA, the largest U.S. hospital chain, said yesterday it will sell $1.53 billion in high-yield debt to finance the payout to its private-equity owners, which also include Bank of America Corp. The firms earlier this year took $2.25 billion in two dividends from the Nashville, Tennessee-based company, which has yet to complete an initial public offering announced in May.