Banks are set for a bitter battle with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts over terms of the $24 billion (17.6 billion) financing required to fund the US buyout giants takeover of First Data, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It is understood that KKR has called some of Wall Street’s most prominent financiers – from Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, among others – for a meeting to strike a compromise. Other banks involved in the deal are HSBC, Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers.
Indications were that KKR would make some concessions, though not on the matters that most concern the bankers. Also to be decided is whether the banks will hold the debt on their own balance sheets, as is likely, or try to market the debt to investors. Sources said they might settle on a blend of the two.