By now, you’ve probably heard about the private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), going public. Eric Englund writes to me:

More hilarity from Wall Street. What is missing from this article? Via this back-door method of listing on the NYSE, KKR is not raising new capital and has no intention of issuing new stock. So what is the purpose of this listing? Simple, it is an exit strategy for Henry Kravis and George Roberts. How else are these two “pirates” going to cash out their stock in KKR? No one would want to buy KKR outright. So, if you go public, Kravis and Roberts can sell their shares to an unsuspecting and ever-stupid public. When they retire, they’ll have fully cashed out, not caring a whit as to what happens to this LBO firm. Citigroup, Lazard, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are advising the various groups involved in this undertaking. No doubt, each broker is advising that this is a fabulous idea…and it is if you like to transfer wealth, once again, from Main Street to Wall Street. Of course, what I have stated won’t make it into the Wall Street Journal or any other MSM outlet.