KKR Sees Arctos as Linchpin for Building a $100 Billion Business

KKR & Co.’s leaders see their acquisition of Arctos Partners as key to helping the firm capitalize on two growing business lines while strengthening its newfound position as a dominant institutional sports investor.

The transaction announced this week gives KKR, which ended the year with $744 billion of assets, a chance to disrupt the booming secondaries market by devising new ways to structure and facilitate deals. They’ll also seek to help mid-size private equity firms solve challenges such as succession planning and starting new business lines.