Private Equity Firm KKR Shows That There Are Still Deals To Be Made — Maybe Just Not On Wall Street (Yet)

There’s no shortage of cash in the hands of private equity firms, but given the state of things in the macro, there certainly has been a shortage of deals — at least on Wall Street. In private equity land, PE monolith KKRKKR

made $8B worth of deals in a single week in April. And this holiday week, it could be chasing down that total.

• On Tuesday, the company agreed to acquire ProTen, which owns and operates Australian poultry farm infrastructure, for an undisclosed amount.
• Hours later, KKR agreed to spend £4.1B ($5.6B) to acquire British testing equipment maker Spectris — a hot commodity among PE bidders in recent weeks.

What’s the deal? Private equity firms have to find new ways to deploy the mounds of cash they’ve raised from investors. As a result, they’re looking overseas — seeking opportunities in infrastructure and core business operations rather than ‘sexy’ tech plays. Especially in non-tech sectors, valuations may be more favorable for M&A, making them prime for takeout by opportunistic buyers.