KKR & Co LP said the fourth quarter of 2012 was its strongest yet as a publicly listed alternative asset manager, as exits from private equity investments delivered a record amount of cash for itself and its investors. Buoyant equity and debt markets have offered takeover firms an opportunity to profitably exit some of their investments and lifted the value of assets in their funds. Blackstone Group LP also put in a strong showing with its earnings last week."Our private equity portfolio and our balance sheet both appreciated 24 percent in 2012, outperforming the S&P 500 and MSCI World indices by over 700 basis points," Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR's co-founders and co-chief executives, said in a statement on Thursday.KKR said fourth-quarter economic net income, a measure of profitability which takes into account the mark-to-market valuation of its assets, came in at $347.7 million, compared with $285.5 million a year ago.Total distributable earnings, which are used to pay dividends, jumped from $146.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 to $546.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.
The Blackstone Group L.P. (Blackstone) is a manager of private capital and provider of financial advisory services. Shares of BX remained unchanged at $18.64. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $11.13 and as high as $19.25. On average, 4556340 shares of BX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 300.
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