KKR sees big bucks in infrastructure

With its plans to become a public company in Q4, the folks at KKR have a lot on their plate. However, the company realizes it needs to keep bolstering the firm.

In light of the credit crunch and slowing economy, this is a tough thing. After all, much of KKR's business comes from its buyout business, which has been mostly frozen for the past year.

But, KKR understands that private equity is a long-term proposition, and there are certainly some great investment opportunities. One attractive area is infrastructure. In fact, in May KKR announced plans to raise a $10 billion infrastructure fund and retained a top Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) executive, George Bilicic, to manage things.

Well, this week there was more activity on this initiative. KKR retained John Bryson as a Senior Advisor. No doubt, he's a maestro about infrastructure. He was formerly the CEO of Edison International (he joined the firm in 1984) where he had to deal with complex regulations as well as find ways to grow operations. Before this, he was a partner at the law firm, Morrison & Foerster and even served as the president of the California Public Utilities Commission.

Of course, KKR is facing lots of competition in the infrastructure category, such as from other tier-1 private equity operators and even sovereign wealth funds. Take a look at TPG, which has recently made a preliminary $6.5 billion bid for Australia's Asciano (a port and rails firm).

Yet, infrastructure is a massive space with room for many players. More importantly, private equity firms are bulging with cash and need to find places to put it.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.