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The United States has filed a lawsuit against private equity giant KKR, alleging that the investment group “systematically flouted” its requirements to provide antitrust regulators and enforcers with standard pre-merger filings during a wave of deals in 2021 and 2022.
The lawsuit comes after lengthy settlement talks between KKR and the Justice Department in which the two parties reached an impasse over the Justice Department's demand for a significant financial penalty and the installation of a watchdog agency within the leading New York-based private equity firm, according to securities filings. And people familiar with the matter.
The lawsuit is one of the latest efforts by the Justice Department's antitrust unit to thwart anticompetitive private equity deals after Jonathan Kanter, its recently departed chief, cracked down on buyout groups that capture large swaths of the U.S. economy.
The enforcement action by KKR is being challenged in a counterclaim. The company, which manages more than $500 billion in assets, said the omissions in the filing were “insignificant and unintentional,” and called the action an attempt to “take advantage” of confusing financial files on the eve of the leadership transition from President Joe Biden to the president. Election of Donald Trump.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on KKR's countersuit.
This is a developing story
