Kravis Bolsters KKR’s Biggest Deal With First Data Boost

Henry Kravis won’t let his firm’s biggest investment slip away.

KKR & Co., run by Kravis and his cousin George Roberts, said today it led a $3.5 billion private placement for First Data Corp. to shore up the payment processor’s balance sheet and reduce interest payments, seven years after the New York-based private-equity firm and its clients loaded it with debt to fund a $27.5 billion buyout.