UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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Form 10-K

Commission File Number 001-34820

KKR & CO. L.P.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:    None

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o    No ý

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter periods that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o    No o

         Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer" and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

         Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o    No ý

         There was no active trading market for the registrant's common units as of June 30, 2010. As of July 15, 2010 (the date the registrant's common units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange), the aggregate market value of the common units of the registrant held by non-affiliates was approximately $2.0 billion.

         As of February 28, 2011, there were 212,770,091 common units of the registrant outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None

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KKR & CO. L.P.

FORM 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2010

INDEX

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

        This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, our operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believe," "expect," "potential," "continue," "may," "should," "seek," "approximately," "predict," "intend," "will," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate" or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe these factors include but are not limited to those described under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in this report. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in our other periodic filings. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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        In this report, references to "KKR," "we," "us," "our" and "our partnership" refer to KKR & Co. L.P. and its consolidated subsidiaries. Prior to KKR & Co. L.P. becoming listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") on July 15, 2010, KKR Group Holdings L.P. ("Group Holdings") consolidated the financial results of the KKR Group Partnerships (as defined below) and their consolidated subsidiaries.

        References to "our Managing Partner" are to KKR Management LLC, which acts as our general partner; references to "KKR Guernsey" are to KKR & Co. (Guernsey) L.P. (f/k/a KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. or "KPE"); references to the "Combined Business" of KKR refer to the business of KKR that resulted from the Transactions (as defined below); references to the "KKR Group Partnerships" are to KKR Management Holdings L.P. and KKR Fund Holdings L.P., which became holding companies for the Combined Business on October 1, 2009; and references to the "KPE Investment Partnership" are to KKR PEI Investments, L.P., a lower tier partnership through which KPE made all of its investments prior to October 1, 2009.

        Unless otherwise indicated, references to equity interests in the Combined Business, or to percentage interests in the Combined Business, reflect the aggregate equity of the KKR Group Partnerships and are net of amounts that have been allocated to our principals in respect of the carried interest from the Combined Business as part of our "carry pool" and certain minority interests in our business that were not acquired by the KKR Group Partnerships in connection with the Transactions. References to our "principals" are to our senior employees and operating consultants who hold interests in the Combined Business through KKR Holdings L.P., which we refer to as "KKR Holdings" and references to our "senior principals" are to principals who also hold interests in our Managing Partner entitling them to vote for the election of its directors.

        On October 1, 2009, we completed the acquisition of all of the assets and liabilities of KKR Guernsey and, in connection with such acquisition, completed a series of transactions pursuant to which the business of KKR was reorganized into a holding company structure. We refer to the acquisition of the assets and liabilities of KKR Guernsey as the "Combination Transaction," to our reorganization into a holding company structure as the "Reorganization Transactions" and to the Combination Transaction and the Reorganization Transactions collectively as the "Transactions." Our financial information for periods prior to the Transactions is, for accounting purposes, based on a group of certain combined and consolidated entities under common control of our senior principals and under the common ownership of our principals and certain other individuals who have been involved in our business, and our financial information for periods subsequent to the Transactions is, for accounting purposes, based on a group consisting of KKR & Co. L.P. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

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        In this report, the terms "assets under management" or "AUM" represent the assets from which we are entitled to receive fees or a carried interest and general partner capital. We calculate the amount of AUM as of any date as the sum of:

(i)

the fair value of the investments of our investment funds plus uncalled capital commitments from these funds;



(ii)

the fair value of investments in our co-investment vehicles;



(iii)

the net asset value of certain of our fixed income products; and



(iv)

the value of outstanding structured finance vehicles.

        In this report, the terms "fee paying assets under management" or "FPAUM" represent only those assets under management from which we receive fees. FPAUM is the sum of all of the individual fee bases that are used to calculate our fees and differs from AUM in the following respects: (i) assets from which we do not receive a fee are excluded (i.e., assets with respect to which we receive only carried interest); and (ii) certain assets, primarily in our private equity funds, are reflected based on capital commitments and invested capital as opposed to fair value because fees are not impacted by changes in the fair value of underlying investments.

        In this report, the terms "fee related earnings" or "FRE" are comprised of segment operating revenues, less segment operating expenses. The components of FRE on a segment basis differ from the equivalent GAAP amounts on a combined basis as a result of: (i) the inclusion of management fees earned from consolidated funds that were eliminated in consolidation; (ii) the exclusion of expenses of consolidated funds; (iii) the exclusion of charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets; (iv) the exclusion of charges relating to carry pool allocations; (v) the exclusion of non-cash equity charges and other non-cash compensation charges borne by KKR Holdings; (vi) the exclusion of certain reimbursable expenses and (vii) the exclusion of certain non-recurring items.

        You should note that our calculations of AUM, FPAUM and FRE may differ from the calculations of other investment firms and, as a result, our measurements of AUM, FPAUM and FRE may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other investment firms. Our definition of AUM, FPAUM and FRE are not based on any definition of AUM, FPAUM or FRE that is set forth in the agreements governing the investment funds, vehicles or accounts that we manage.

        In this report, the term "GAAP" refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

        Unless otherwise indicated, references in this report to our fully diluted common units outstanding, or to our common units outstanding on a fully diluted basis, reflect (i) actual common units outstanding, (ii) common units into which KKR Group Partnership Units not held by us are exchangeable pursuant to the terms of the exchange agreement described in this report and (iii) common units issuable pursuant to any equity awards actually issued under the KKR & Co. L.P. 2010 Equity Incentive Plan, which we refer to as our "Equity Incentive Plan," but do not reflect common units available for issuance pursuant to our Equity Incentive Plan for which grants have not yet been made.

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PART I

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

Overview

        Led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, we are a leading global investment firm with $61.0 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2010 and a 34-year history of leadership, innovation and investment excellence. When our founders started our firm in 1976, they established the principles that guide our business approach today, including a patient and disciplined investment process; the alignment of our interests with those of our investors, portfolio companies and other stakeholders; and a focus on attracting world-class talent.

        Our business offers a broad range of investment management services to our investors and provides capital markets services to our firm, our portfolio companies and our clients. Throughout our history, we have consistently been a leader in the private equity industry, having completed more than 185 private equity investments with a total transaction value in excess of $435 billion. In recent years, we have grown our firm by expanding our geographical presence and building businesses in new areas, such as fixed income, capital markets, infrastructure, and natural resources. Our new efforts build on our core principles and industry expertise, allowing us to leverage the intellectual capital and synergies in our businesses and to capitalize on a broader range of the opportunities we source. Additionally, we have increased our focus on servicing our existing investors and have invested meaningfully in developing relationships with new investors.

        We conduct our business through 14 offices on four continents, providing us with a pre-eminent global platform for sourcing transactions, raising capital and carrying out capital markets activities. We have grown our AUM significantly, from $15.1 billion as of December 31, 2004 to $61.0 billion as of December 31, 2010, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 26.1%. Our growth has been driven by value that we have created through our operationally focused investment approach, the expansion of our existing businesses, our entry into new lines of business, innovation in the products that we offer investors, an increased focus on providing tailored solutions to our clients and the integration of capital markets distribution activities.

        As a global investment firm, we earn management, monitoring, transaction and incentive fees for providing investment management, monitoring and other services to our funds, vehicles, managed accounts, specialty finance company and portfolio companies, and we generate transaction-specific income from capital markets transactions. We earn additional investment income from investing our own capital alongside that of our investors and from the carried interest we receive from our funds and certain of our other investment vehicles. A carried interest entitles the sponsor of a fund to a specified percentage of investment gains that are generated on third-party capital that is invested.

        We seek to consistently generate attractive investment returns by employing world-class people, following a patient and disciplined investment approach and driving growth and value creation in our portfolio. Our investment teams have deep industry knowledge and are supported by a substantial and diversified capital base, an integrated global investment platform, the expertise of operating consultants and senior advisors and a worldwide network of business relationships that provide a significant source of investment opportunities, specialized knowledge during due diligence and substantial resources for creating and realizing value for stakeholders. We believe that these aspects of our business will help us continue to expand and grow our business and deliver strong investment performance in a variety of economic and financial conditions.

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Our Firm

Global Operations

        With offices in New York, Menlo Park, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Mumbai, Dubai and Sydney, we have established ourselves as a leading global investment firm. Our expansion outside of the United States began in 1995 when we made our first investment in Canada. Since that time, we have taken a long-term strategic approach to investing globally. We have multilingual and multicultural investment teams with local market knowledge and significant business, investment, and operational experience in the countries in which we invest. We believe that our global capabilities have helped us to raise capital, capture a greater number of investment opportunities, and assist our portfolio companies in their increasing reliance on global markets and sourcing, while enabling us to diversify our operations.

        Though our operations span multiple continents and asset classes, our investment professionals are supported by an integrated infrastructure and operate under a common set of principles and business practices that are monitored by global committees. The firm operates with a single culture that rewards investment discipline, creativity, determination, and patience and the sharing of information, resources, expertise, and best practices across offices and asset classes. When appropriate, we staff transactions across multiple offices and businesses in order to take advantage of the industry-specific expertise of our investment professionals, and we hold regular meetings in which investment professionals throughout our offices share their knowledge and experiences. We believe that the ability to draw on the local cultural fluency of our investment professionals while maintaining a centralized and integrated global infrastructure distinguishes us from other investment firms and has been a substantial contributing factor to our ability to raise funds, invest internationally, and expand our businesses.

Global Committees

        Our investment processes are overseen by investment and portfolio management committees. Our investment committees are responsible for reviewing and approving all investments made by their business units, monitoring due diligence practices, and providing advice in connection with the structuring, negotiation, execution, and pricing of investments. Our portfolio management function is responsible for working with our investment professionals from the date on which an investment is made until the time it is exited in order to ensure that strategic and operational objectives are accomplished and that the performance of the investment is closely monitored.

Our Segments

Private Markets

        Through our Private Markets segment, we manage and sponsor a group of private equity funds and co-investment vehicles that invest capital for long-term appreciation, either through controlling ownership of a company or strategic minority positions. These investment funds and co-investment vehicles are managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a registered investment adviser. We also manage investments in infrastructure and in natural resources. As of December 31, 2010, the segment had $46.2 billion of AUM and our actively investing funds included geographically differentiated investment funds and vehicles with over $12.6 billion of unused capital commitments, providing a significant source of capital that may be deployed globally.

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Private Markets Assets Under Management(1)
($ in billions)

        

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(1)

For the years 2006 through 2008, assets under management are presented pro forma for the Combination Transaction and, therefore, exclude the net asset value of KPE and its former commitments to our investment funds.

        The table below presents information as of December 31, 2010 relating to our private equity funds and other Private Markets investment vehicles. This data does not reflect acquisitions or disposals of investments, changes in investment values or distributions occurring after December 31, 2010.

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Performance

        We take a long-term approach to investing and measure the success of our investments over a period of years rather than months. Given the duration of these investments, the firm focuses on realized multiples of invested capital and IRRs when deploying capital in these transactions. We have nearly doubled the value of capital that we have invested in our Private Markets investment funds, turning $49.2 billion of capital into $98.0 billion of value.

Amount Invested and Total Value
Private Markets Investment Funds
As of December 31, 2010

        From our inception in 1976 through December 31, 2010, our investment funds with at least 36 months of investment activity generated a cumulative gross IRR of 25.8%, compared to the 11.6% gross IRR achieved by the S&P 500 Index over the same period, despite the cyclical and sometimes challenging environments in which we have operated. The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index and our returns assume reinvestment of distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses.

        The table below presents information as of December 31, 2010 relating to the historical performance of each of our Private Markets investment funds since inception, which we believe illustrates the benefits of our investment approach. This data does not reflect additional capital raised

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since December 31, 2010 or acquisitions or disposals of investments, changes in investment values or distributions occurring after that date.

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Private Equity

        We are a world leader in private equity, having raised 16 funds with approximately $60.4 billion of capital commitments through December 31, 2010. We invest in industry-leading franchises and attract world-class management teams. Our investment approach leverages our capital base, sourcing advantage, global network and industry knowledge. It also leverages our sizeable team of operating consultants who work exclusively with our portfolio companies, as well as our senior advisors, many of whom are former chief executive officers and leaders of the business community.

Portfolio

        The following charts present information concerning the amount of capital invested by private equity funds by geography and industry through December 31, 2010. We believe that this data illustrates the benefits of our business approach and our ability to source and invest in deals in multiple industries and geographies.

        Our current private equity portfolio held by our European Fund and subsequent funds consists of over 60 companies with more than $200 billion of annual revenues and more than 900,000 employees

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worldwide. These companies are headquartered in 18 countries and operate in 15 general industries which take advantage of our broad and deep industry and operating expertise. Many of these companies are leading franchises with global operations, strong management teams and attractive growth prospects, which we believe will provide benefits through a broad range of business conditions, including the current economic cycle.

Investment Approach

        Our approach to making private equity investments focuses on achieving multiples of invested capital and attractive risk-adjusted IRRs by selecting high-quality investments that may be made at attractive prices, applying rigorous standards of due diligence when making investment decisions, implementing strategic and operational changes that drive growth and value creation in acquired businesses, carefully monitoring investments, and making informed decisions when developing investment exit strategies.

        We believe that we have achieved a leading position in the private equity industry by applying a disciplined investment approach and by building strong partnerships with highly motivated management teams who put their own capital at risk. When making private equity investments, we seek out strong business franchises, attractive growth prospects, leading market positions, and the ability to generate attractive returns. We do not participate in "hostile" transactions that are not supported by a target company's board of directors.

Sourcing and Selecting Investments

        We have access to significant opportunities for making private equity investments as a result of our sizeable capital base, global platform, and relationships with leading executives from major companies, commercial and investment banks, and other investment and advisory institutions. Members of our global network frequently contact us with new investment opportunities, including a substantial number of exclusive investment opportunities and opportunities that are made available to only a very limited number of other firms. We also proactively pursue business development strategies that are designed to generate deals internally based on the depth of our industry knowledge and our reputation as a leading financial sponsor.

        To enhance our ability to identify and consummate private equity investments, we have organized our investment professionals in industry-specific teams. Our industry teams work closely with our operating consultants and senior advisors to identify businesses that can be grown and improved. These teams conduct their own primary research, develop a list of industry themes and trends, identify companies and assets in need of operational improvement, and seek out businesses and assets that they believe will benefit from our involvement. They possess a detailed understanding of the economic drivers, opportunities for value creation, and strategies that can be designed and implemented to improve companies across the industries in which we invest.

Due Diligence and the Investment Decision

        When an investment team determines that an investment proposal is worth consideration, the proposal is formally presented to an investment committee and the due diligence process commences if appropriate. The objective of the due diligence process is to identify attractive investment opportunities based on the facts and circumstances surrounding an investment and to prepare a framework that may be used from the date of an acquisition to drive operational improvement and value creation. When conducting due diligence, investment teams evaluate a number of important business, financial, tax, accounting, environmental, social, governance, legal and regulatory issues in order to determine whether an investment is suitable. In connection with the due diligence process, investment professionals spend significant amounts of time meeting with a company's management and operating

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personnel, visiting plants and facilities, and where appropriate speaking with other stakeholders interested in and impacted by the investment in order to understand the opportunities and risks associated with the proposed investment. Our investment professionals also use the services of outside accountants, consultants, lawyers, investment banks, and industry experts as appropriate to assist them in this process. An investment committee monitors all due diligence practices and must approve an investment before it may be made.

Building Successful and Competitive Businesses

        When investing in a portfolio company, we partner with world-class management teams to execute on our investment thesis, and we rigorously track performance through regular monitoring of detailed operational and financial metrics as well as appropriate environmental, social and governance issues. We have developed a global network of experienced managers and operating executives who assist the portfolio companies in making operational improvements and achieving growth. We augment these resources with operational guidance from our operating consultants at KKR Capstone, senior advisors, and investment teams, and with "100-Day Plans" that focus the firm's efforts and drive our strategies. We emphasize efficient capital management, top-line growth, R&D spending, geographical expansion, cost optimization, and investment for the long-term.

Realizing Investments

        We have developed substantial expertise for realizing private equity investments. From our inception through December 31, 2010, the firm has generated approximately $65.0 billion of cash proceeds from the sale of our portfolio companies in initial public offerings and secondary offerings, recapitalizations, and sales to strategic buyers. When exiting investments, our objective is to structure the exit in a manner that optimizes returns for investors and, in the case of publicly traded companies, minimizes the impact that the exit has on the trading price of the company's securities. We believe that our ability to successfully realize investments is attributable in part to the strength and discipline of our portfolio management committee and capital markets business, as well as the firm's longstanding relationships with corporate buyers and members of the investment banking and investing communities.

Private Equity Fund Structures

        The private equity funds that we sponsor and manage have finite lives and investment periods. Each fund is organized as a single partnership or a combination of separate domestic and overseas partnerships, and each partnership is controlled by a general partner. Private equity fund investors are limited partners who agree to contribute a specified amount of capital to the fund from time to time for use in qualifying investments during the investment period, which generally lasts up to six years depending on how quickly capital is deployed. Each private equity fund's general partner is generally entitled to a carried interest that allocates to it 20% of the net profits realized by the limited partners from the fund's investments.

        We enter into management agreements with our private equity funds pursuant to which we receive management fees in exchange for providing the funds with management and other services. These management fees are calculated based on the amount of capital committed to a fund during the investment period and thereafter on the cost basis of the fund's investments, which causes the fees to be reduced over time as investments are liquidated. These management fees are paid by private equity fund investors, who generally contribute capital to the fund in order to allow the fund to pay the fees to us. Our funds generally allocate management fees across individual investments and, as and when an investment generates returns, 20% of the allocated management fee is required to be returned to investors before a carried interest may be paid.

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        We also enter into monitoring agreements with our portfolio companies pursuant to which we receive periodic monitoring fees in exchange for providing them with management, consulting, and other services, and we typically receive transaction fees from portfolio companies for providing them with financial, advisory and other services in connection with specific transactions. In some cases, we may be entitled to other fees that are paid by an investment target upon closing a transaction or when a potential investment is not consummated. Our private equity fund agreements typically require us to share 80% of any advisory and other fees that are allocable to a fund (after reduction for expenses incurred allocable to a fund from unconsummated transactions) with fund investors.

        In addition, the agreements governing our private equity funds enable investors in those funds to reduce their capital commitments available for further investments, on an investor-by-investor basis, in the event certain "key persons" (for example, both of Messrs. Kravis and Roberts, and, in the case of certain geographically or product focused funds, one or more of the executives focused on such funds) cease to be actively involved in the management of the fund. While these provisions do not allow investors to withdraw capital that has been invested or cause a fund to terminate, the occurrence of a "key man" event could cause disruption in our business, reduce the amount of capital that we have available for future investments, and make it more challenging to raise additional capital in the future.

        To the extent investors in our private equity funds suffer losses resulting from fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or other similar misconduct, investors may have remedies against us, our private equity funds, our principals, or our affiliates under the federal securities laws and state laws. While the general partners and investment advisers to our private equity funds, including their directors, officers, other employees, and affiliates, are generally indemnified by the private equity funds to the fullest extent permitted by law with respect to their conduct in connection with the management of the business and affairs of our private equity funds, such indemnity does not extend to actions determined to have involved fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or other similar misconduct.

        Because private equity fund investors typically are unwilling to invest their capital in a fund unless the fund's manager also invests its own capital in the fund's investments, our private equity fund documents generally require the general partners of the funds to make minimum capital commitments to the funds. The amounts of these commitments, which are negotiated by fund investors, generally range from 2% to 4% of a fund's total capital commitments at final closing. When investments are made, the general partner contributes capital to the fund based on its fund commitment percentage and acquires a capital interest in the investment that is not subject to a carried interest or management fees. Prior to the Transactions, these capital contributions were funded with cash from operations that otherwise would be distributed to our principals. Subsequent to the Transactions, these general partner commitments are made through our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment.

Other Private Equity Investment Vehicles

        E2 Investors (Annex Fund).    We established the Annex Fund in 2009 to enable investors in the European Fund II and the Millennium Fund to make additional investments in portfolio companies of the European Fund II, which had already been fully invested. This fund has several features that distinguish it from our other private equity funds, including: (i) it does not pay a management fee to us; (ii) its general partner is only entitled to a carried interest after netting any losses, costs, and expenses relating to European Fund II and certain Millennium Fund investments from the profits of the Annex Fund investments; and (iii) no transaction or incremental monitoring fees are charged in connection with investments in which the Annex Fund participates. In addition, certain investors transferred a portion of their European Fund III commitments to the Annex Fund, which proportionately reduced the commitments available to the European Fund III and the overall amount of management fees payable by the European Fund III to us.

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        Other Private Equity Products.    The amount of equity used to finance leveraged buyouts has increased significantly in recent years, creating significant opportunities to offer co-investment opportunities to both fund investors and other third parties. We have capitalized on this opportunity by building out our capital markets and distribution capabilities and creating new investment structures and products that allow us to syndicate a portion of the equity needed to finance acquisitions. These structures include co-investment vehicles and a principal-protected private equity product, many of which entitle the firm to receive management fees and/or carry. As of December 31, 2010, we had $2.9 billion of AUM in products of this type.

        Legacy Private Equity Funds.    The investment period for each of the 1996 Fund and all prior funds has ended. Because the general partners of these funds are not expected to receive meaningful proceeds from further realizations, interests in the general partners were not contributed to the Combined Business in connection with the Transactions. KKR will, however, continue to provide the legacy funds with management and other services until their liquidation. While we do not expect to receive meaningful fees for providing these services, we do not believe that the ongoing administration of the funds will materially interfere with the firm's operations or generate any material costs for the firm.

Natural Resources

        We manage direct investments in natural resources assets, such as oil and natural gas properties. These investment products seek to generate returns through the production of the underlying natural resources while providing investors with exposure to commodity prices. As of December 31, 2010, we had received $257.5 million of commitments to this strategy.

Infrastructure

        We manage investments in infrastructure assets in order to capitalize on the growing demand for global infrastructure investment. We believe that the global infrastructure market provides an opportunity for the firm's combination of private investment, operational improvement, and stakeholder engagement skills. This strategy seeks to achieve returns through the acquisition and operational improvement of assets important to the functioning of the economy and also to provide current income. As of December 31, 2010, we had received $515.0 million of commitments to our Infrastructure Fund and managed $1.1 billion of infrastructure investments through a separately managed account.

Public Markets

        Through our Public Markets segment, we manage a specialty finance company, a number of investment funds, structured finance vehicles and separately managed accounts that invest capital in liquid credit strategies, such as leveraged loans and high yield bonds, and less liquid credit products such as mezzanine debt and special situations investments. These funds, vehicles and accounts are managed by KKR Asset Management LLC (which we refer to as "KAM"), an SEC registered investment adviser. We intend to continue to grow this business by leveraging our global investment platform, experienced investment professionals and the ability to adapt our investment strategies to different market conditions to capitalize on investment opportunities that may arise at every level of the capital structure and across market cycles.

        As of December 31, 2010, this segment had $14.8 billion of AUM, comprised of $1.4 billion of assets managed in a publicly traded specialty finance company, $7.9 billion of assets managed in structured finance vehicles and $5.5 billion of assets managed in other types of investment vehicles and separately managed accounts. The following chart presents the growth in the AUM of our Public

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Markets segment from the commencement of its operations in August 2004 through December 31, 2010.

Public Markets Assets Under Management(1)
($ in billions)

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(1)

For years 2006 through 2008, assets under management are presented pro forma for the Combination Transaction and, therefore, exclude the net asset value of KPE and its former commitments to our investment funds.

        We launched our Public Markets business in August 2004. In connection with the formation of this business, we hired additional investment professionals with significant experience in evaluating and managing debt investments, including investments in corporate loans and debt securities, structured products and other fixed income instruments, and built out an investment platform for identifying, assessing, executing, monitoring and realizing investments. As the platform has expanded, we have continued to add investment professionals, including a team of public equity investors, with whom we believe that we can develop a public equity strategy.

Performance

        We generally review our performance in the Public Markets segment by investment strategy as opposed to by investor vehicle. The following chart presents information on the returns of our key strategies from inception to December 31, 2010.

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Inception-to-Date Annualized Gross Performance vs. Benchmark(1) by Strategy

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(1)

The Benchmarks referred to herein include the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index (the "S&P/LSTA Loan Index") and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index (the "BoAML HY Master II Index" and, together with the S&P/LSTA Loan Index, the "Indices"). The S&P/LSTA Loan Index is an index that comprises all loans that meet the inclusion criteria and that have marks from the LSTA/LPC mark-to-market service. The inclusion criteria consist of the following: (i) syndicated term loan instruments consisting of term loans (both amortizing and institutional), acquisition loans (after they are drawn down) and bridge loans; (ii) secured; (iii) U.S. dollar denominated; (iv) minimum term of one year at inception; and (v) minimum initial spread of LIBOR plus 1.25%. The BoAML HY Master II Index is a market value weighted index of below investment grade U.S. dollar denominated corporate bonds publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market. "Yankee" bonds (debt of foreign issuers issued in the U.S. domestic market) are included in the BoAML HY Master II Index provided that the issuer is domiciled in a country having investment grade foreign currency long-term debt rating. Qualifying bonds must have maturities of one year or more, a fixed coupon schedule and minimum outstanding of US$100 million. In addition, issues having a credit rating lower than BBB3, but not in default, are also included. The indices do not reflect the reinvestment of income or dividends and the indices are not subject to management fees, incentive allocations or expenses. It is not possible to invest directly in unmanaged indices.

(2)

The Secured Credit Unlevered carve-out performance track record is presented as supplemental information. The Secured Credit Unlevered carve-out represents performance of KKR's Secured Credit Levered composite calculated on an unlevered basis. KKR's Secured Credit Levered composite has an investment objective that allows it to invest in assets other than senior secured term loans and high yield securities, which includes asset backed securities, commercial mortgage backed securities, preferred stock, public equity, private equity and certain freestanding derivatives. In addition, KKR's Secured Credit Levered composite has employed leverage in its respective portfolios as part of its investment strategy. Gains realized with borrowed funds may cause returns

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to increase at a faster rate than would be the case without borrowings. If, however, investment results fail to cover the principal, interest and other costs of borrowings, returns could also decrease faster than if there had been no borrowings. Accordingly, the unlevered returns contained herein do not reflect the actual returns, and are not intended to be indicative of the future results of KKR's Secured Credit Levered composite. It is not expected that KKR's Secured Credit Levered composite will achieve comparable results. The Benchmark used for purposes of comparison for the Secured Credit strategy presented herein is the S&P/LSTA Loan Index. There are differences, in some cases, significant differences, between KKR's investments and the investments included in the Indices. For instance, KKR's composite may invest in securities that have a greater degree of risk and volatility, as well as liquidity risk, than those securities contained in the Indices.

(3)

Performance is based on a blended composite of Bank Loans Plus High Yield strategy accounts. The Benchmark used for purposes of comparison for the Bank Loans Plus High Yield strategy is based on 65% S&P/LSTA Loan Index and 35% ML HY Master II Index.

(4)

The Benchmark used for purposes of comparison for the High Yield Carve Out strategy presented herein is based on the Bank of America Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index. The High Yield carve-out is comprised of all investments included in KKR-sponsored portfolios that have been identified as "below investment grade" or were rated "BB" or lower at time of issuance by Standard & Poor's. The collection of investments included in the High Yield carve-out come from various investment funds, vehicles and accounts sponsored by KKR.

(5)

Performance is a blended composite of accounts in the Opportunistic Credit strategy. The Benchmark used for purposes of comparison is the BoAML HY Master II Index.

Investment Approach

        Our approach to making investments focuses on creating investment portfolios that generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by allocating capital across multiple asset classes, selecting high-quality investments that may be made at attractive prices, applying rigorous standards of due diligence when making investment decisions, subjecting investments to regular monitoring and oversight, and making buy and sell decisions based on price targets and relative value parameters. The firm employs both "top-down" and "bottom-up" analyses when making these types of investments. Our top-down analysis involves a macro analysis of relative asset valuations, long-term industry trends, business cycles, regulatory trends, interest rate expectations, credit fundamentals and technical factors to target specific industry sectors and asset classes in which to invest. From a bottoms-up perspective, our investment decision is predicated on an investment thesis that is developed using our proprietary resources and knowledge. We will invest in a company after it has undergone a due diligence analysis and the applicable investment committee has approved it.

Sourcing and Selecting Investments

        We source investment opportunities through a variety of channels, including internal deal generation strategies and the firm's global network of contacts at major companies, corporate executives, commercial and investment banks, financial intermediaries, other private equity sponsors and other investment and advisory institutions. We are also regularly provided with opportunities to invest where appropriate in the securities of our portfolio companies in connection with our private equity investments.

Due Diligence and the Investment Decision

        Once a potential investment has been identified, our investment professionals screen the opportunity and make a preliminary determination concerning whether we should proceed with a due

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diligence investigation. When evaluating the suitability of an investment for our funds, we employ a relative value framework and subject the investment to a rigorous due diligence. This review considers, among other things, expected returns, capital structure, credit ratings, historical and projected financial data, the issuer's competitive position, the quality and track record of the issuer's management team, margin stability, and industry and company trends. Investment professionals use the services of outside advisors and industry experts as appropriate to assist them in the due diligence process and, when relevant and permitted, leverage the knowledge and experience of our private equity professionals. A dedicated investment committee monitors all due diligence practices and must approve an investment before it may be made.

Monitoring Investments

        We monitor our portfolios of investments using daily, quarterly and annual analyses. Daily analyses include morning market meetings, industry and company pricing runs, industry and company reports and discussions with the firm's private equity investment professionals on an as-needed basis. Quarterly analyses include the preparation of quarterly operating results, reconciliations of actual results to projections and updates to financial models (baseline and stress cases). Annual analyses involve preparing annual credit memoranda, conducting internal audits, and testing compliance with monitoring and documentation requirements.

Public Markets Vehicles

KFN

        KKR Financial Holdings LLC (NYSE: KFN), or KFN, is an NYSE-listed specialty finance company that commenced operations in July 2004. Its majority-owned subsidiaries finance and invest in financial assets, including below investment grade corporate debt, marketable equity securities and private equity. Additionally, KFN has and may make additional investments in other asset classes including natural resources and real estate. Below investment grade debt includes senior secured and unsecured loans, mezzanine loans, high yield bonds, and distressed and stressed debt. We serve as the external manager of KFN under a management agreement and are entitled to receive a management fee and an incentive fee.

Structured Finance Vehicles

        Beginning in 2005, we began managing structured finance vehicles in the form of collateralized loan obligation transactions ("CLOs"). CLOs are typically structured as bankruptcy-remote, special purpose investment vehicles which acquire, monitor and, to varying degrees, manage a pool of fixed income assets. KFN conducts a majority of its business through its holdings of a majority of the voting securities of, and certain other interests in, such CLOs. The CLOs serve as long term financing for fixed income investments and as a way to minimize refinancing risk, minimize maturity risk and secure a fixed cost of funds over an underlying market interest rate for KFN and the private fixed income funds. We may receive a fee for managing certain CLOs.

Separately Managed Accounts and Investment Funds

        We have created a managed account platform that enables the firm to tailor an investment program to meet the specific risk, return and investment objectives of individual institutional investors. We also manage investment funds that make investments primarily in corporate debt and marketable and non-marketable equity securities. For managing these accounts and funds, we are entitled to receive either fees or a combination of fees and carried interest, depending on the nature of the investment program.

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        The table below presents information as of December 31, 2010 relating to our Public Markets vehicles discussed above.

Capital Markets and Principal Activities

        Our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment combines the assets we acquired in the Combination Transaction with our global capital markets business. Our capital markets business supports our firm, our portfolio companies and our clients by providing tailored capital markets advice and developing and implementing both traditional and non-traditional capital solutions for investments and companies seeking financing. Our capital markets services include arranging debt and equity financing for transactions, placing and underwriting securities offerings, structuring new investment products and providing capital markets services. To allow us to carry out these activities, we are registered or authorized to carry out certain broker-dealer activities in various countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

        The assets that we acquired in the Combination Transaction, which include investments in our private equity funds and co-investments in certain portfolio companies of such funds, provide us with a significant source of capital to further grow and expand our business, increase our participation in our existing portfolio of businesses and further align our interests with those of our investors and other stakeholders. We believe that the market experience and skills of professionals in our capital markets business and the investment expertise of professionals in our Private Markets and Public Markets segments will allow us to continue to grow and diversify this asset base over time.

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        As of December 31, 2010, the segment had $4.8 billion of investments at fair value. The following charts present information concerning our principal assets by type, geography and industry as of December 31, 2010.

Client & Partner Group

        We have developed our Client & Partner Group over the past several years to better service our existing investors and to source new investor relationships. The group is responsible for raising capital for us globally across all products, expanding our client relationships across asset classes and across types of investors, developing products to meet our clients' needs, and servicing existing investors and products.

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        The following charts detail our investor base by type and geography as of December 31, 2010.

Competition

        We compete with other investment managers for both investors and investment opportunities. The firm's competitors consist primarily of sponsors of public and private investment funds, business development companies, investment banks, commercial finance companies and operating companies acting as strategic buyers. We believe that competition for investors is based primarily on investment performance; business reputation; the duration of relationships with investors; the quality of services provided to investors; pricing; and the relative attractiveness of the types of investments that have been or are to be made. We believe that competition for investment opportunities is based primarily on the pricing, terms and structure of a proposed investment and certainty of execution.

        Some of the entities that we compete with as an investment firm have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and more personnel than us and, in the case of some asset classes, longer operating histories, more established relationships or greater experience. Several of our competitors also have raised, or may raise, significant amounts of capital and have investment objectives that are similar to the investment objectives of our funds, which may create additional competition for investment opportunities. Some of these competitors may also have lower costs of capital and access to funding sources that are not available to us, which may create competitive advantages for them. In addition, some of these competitors may have higher risk tolerances, different risk assessments or lower return thresholds, which could allow them to consider a wider range of investments and to bid more aggressively than us for investments. Strategic buyers may also be able to achieve synergistic cost savings or revenue enhancements with respect to a targeted portfolio company, which may provide them with a competitive advantage in bidding for such investments.

        We expect to compete as a capital markets business primarily with investment banks and independent broker-dealers in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. We intend to focus our capital markets activities initially on the firm, our portfolio companies and investors, but we also seek to service other third parties. While we generally target customers with whom we have existing relationships, those customers may have similar relationships with the firm's competitors, many of whom will have access to competing securities transactions, greater financial, technical or marketing resources or more established reputations than us. The limited operating history of our capital markets business could make it difficult for us to compete with established broker-dealers, participate in capital markets transactions of issuers or successfully grow the firm's capital markets business over time.

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Employees, Consultants and Advisors

        As of December 31, 2010, we employed or retained the services of over 700 people worldwide:

Investment Professionals

        Our 183 investment professionals come from diverse backgrounds in private equity, fixed income, and infrastructure and include executives with operations, strategic consulting, risk management, liability management and finance experience. As a group, these professionals provide us with a powerful global team for identifying attractive investment opportunities, creating value, and generating superior returns.

Other Professionals

        Our 268 other professionals come from diverse backgrounds in capital markets, capital raising, client servicing, public affairs, finance, tax, legal, human resources, and information technology. As a group, these professionals provide us with a strong team for performing capital markets activities, servicing our existing investors and creating relationships with new investors globally. Additionally, a majority of these other professionals are responsible for supporting the global infrastructure of KKR.

KKR Capstone

        We have developed an institutionalized process for creating value in investments. As part of our effort, we utilize a team of 59 operating consultants at KKR Capstone, who work exclusively with our investment professionals and portfolio company management teams. With executives in New York, Menlo Park, London, Hong Kong, and Beijing, KKR Capstone provides additional expertise for assessing investment opportunities and assisting managers of portfolio companies in defining strategic priorities and implementing operational changes. During the initial phases of an investment, KKR Capstone's work seeks to implement our thesis for value creation. Our operating consultants may assist portfolio companies in addressing top-line growth, cost optimization and efficient capital allocation and in developing operating and financial metrics. Over time, this work shifts to identifying challenges and taking advantage of business opportunities that arise during the life of an investment.

Senior Advisors

        To complement the expertise of our investment professionals, we have retained a team of 30 senior advisors to provide us with additional operational and strategic insights. The responsibilities of senior advisors include serving on the boards of our portfolio companies, helping us evaluate individual investment opportunities and assisting portfolio companies with operational matters. These individuals include former chief executive officers, chief financial officers and chairmen of Fortune 500 companies, as well as other individuals who have held leading positions in major corporations and public agencies worldwide. Several senior advisors also participate on our portfolio management committee, which monitors the performance of our private equity investments.

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Organizational Structure

        The following simplified diagram illustrates our organizational structure as of December 31, 2010.

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(1)

KKR Management LLC serves as the general partner of KKR & Co. L.P., which is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of a majority of independent directors. KKR Management LLC does not hold any economic interests in KKR & Co. L.P. and is owned by senior KKR principals.

(2)

KKR Holdings is the holding vehicle through which our principals indirectly own their interest in KKR. KKR Group Partnership Units that are held by KKR Holdings are exchangeable for our common units on a one-for-one basis, subject to customary conversion rate adjustments for splits, unit distributions and reclassifications and compliance with applicable lock-up, vesting and transfer restrictions. As limited partner interests, these KKR Group Partnership Units are non-voting and do not entitle KKR Holdings to participate in the management of our business and affairs. As of December 31, 2010, KKR Holdings had a 68.8% interest in our business indirectly through its limited partner interests in the KKR Group Partnerships, namely KKR Management Holdings L.P. and KKR Fund Holdings L.P.

(3)

KKR Holdings holds special non-economic voting units in our partnership that entitle it to cast, with respect to those limited matters that may be submitted to a vote of our unitholders, a number of votes equal to the number of KKR Group Partnership Units that it holds from time to time.

(4)

Because the income of KKR Management Holdings L.P. is likely to be primarily non-qualifying income for purposes of the qualifying income exception to the publicly traded partnership rules, we formed KKR Management Holdings Corp., which is subject to taxation as a corporation for U.S.

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federal income tax purposes, to hold our KKR Group Partnership Units in KKR Management Holdings L.P. Accordingly, our allocable share of the taxable income of KKR Management Holdings L.P. will be subject to taxation at a corporate rate. KKR Management Holdings L.P., which is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, was formed to hold interests in our fee generating businesses and other assets that may not generate qualifying income for purposes of the qualifying income exception to the publicly traded partnership rules. KKR Fund Holdings L.P., which is also treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, was formed to hold interests in our businesses and assets that will generate qualifying income for purposes of the qualifying income exception to the publicly traded partnership rules. A portion of the assets held by KKR Fund Holdings L.P. and certain other assets that may generate qualifying income are also owned by KKR Management Holdings L.P.

(5)

40% of the carried interest earned in relation to our investment funds and carry paying co-investment vehicles is allocated to a carry pool from which carried interest is allocated to our principals, other professionals and selected other individuals who work in these operations. No carried interest has been allocated with respect to co-investments and privately negotiated investments acquired from KPE in the Combination Transaction.

Regulation

        Our operations are subject to regulation and supervision in a number of jurisdictions. The level of regulation and supervision to which we are subject varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is based on the type of business activity involved. We, in conjunction with our outside advisors and counsel, seek to manage our business and operations in compliance with such regulation and supervision. The regulatory and legal requirements that apply to our activities are subject to change from time to time and may become more restrictive, which may make compliance with applicable requirements more difficult or expensive or otherwise restrict our ability to conduct our business activities in the manner in which they are now conducted. Changes in applicable regulatory and legal requirements, including changes in their enforcement, could materially and adversely affect our business and our financial condition and results of operations. As a matter of public policy, the regulatory bodies that regulate our business activities are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the securities and financial markets and protecting investors who participate in those markets rather than protecting the interests of our unitholders.

United States

Regulation as an Investment Adviser

        We conduct our advisory business through our investment adviser subsidiaries, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. and its wholly-owned subsidiary KKR Asset Management LLC, both of which are registered as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act. These investment advisers are subject to the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act and to fiduciary duties derived from these provisions which apply to our relationships with our advisory clients globally, including funds that we manage. These provisions and duties impose restrictions and obligations on us with respect to our dealings with our investors and our investments, including for example restrictions on agency cross and principal transactions. Our registered investment advisers are subject to periodic SEC examinations and other requirements under the Investment Advisers Act and related regulations primarily intended to benefit advisory clients. These additional requirements relate, among other things, to maintaining an effective and comprehensive compliance program, recordkeeping and reporting requirements and disclosure requirements. The Investment Advisers Act generally grants the SEC broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict an investment adviser from conducting advisory activities in the event it fails to comply with federal securities laws. Additional sanctions that may be imposed for failure to comply with applicable requirements include the

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prohibition of individuals from associating with an investment adviser, the revocation of registrations and other censures and fines.

Regulation as a Broker-Dealer

        KKR Capital Markets LLC, one of our subsidiaries, is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC under the Exchange Act and in all 50 U.S. States and U.S. territories and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA. A broker-dealer is subject to legal requirements covering all aspects of its securities business, including sales and trading practices, public and private securities offerings, use and safekeeping of customers' funds and securities, capital structure, record-keeping and retention and the conduct and qualifications of directors, officers, employees and other associated persons. These requirements include the SEC's "uniform net capital rule," which specifies the minimum level of net capital that a broker-dealer must maintain, requires a significant part of the broker-dealer's assets to be kept in relatively liquid form, imposes certain requirements that may have the effect of prohibiting a broker-dealer from distributing or withdrawing its capital and subjects any distributions or withdrawals of capital by a broker-dealer to notice requirements. These and other requirements also include rules that limit a broker-dealer's ratio of subordinated debt to equity in its regulatory capital composition, constrain a broker-dealer's ability to expand its business under certain circumstances and impose additional requirements when the broker-dealer participates in securities offerings of affiliated entities. Violations of these requirements may result in censures, fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders, revocation of licenses or registrations, the suspension or expulsion from the securities industry of the broker-dealer or its officers or employees or other similar consequences by regulatory bodies.

United Kingdom

        KKR Capital Markets Limited, one of our subsidiaries, is authorized in the United Kingdom under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA, and has permission to engage in a number of activities regulated under FSMA, including dealing as principal or agent and arranging deals in relation to certain types of specified investments and arranging the safeguarding and administration of assets. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Limited, another one of our subsidiaries, is authorized in the United Kingdom under FSMA and has permission to engage in a number of regulated activities including advising on and arranging deals relating to corporate finance business in relation to certain types of specified investments. KKR Asset Management Ltd., another one of our subsidiaries, is authorized in the United Kingdom under FSMA and has permission to engage in a number of regulated activities including and advising on and arranging deals in relation to certain types of specified investments. FSMA and related rules govern most aspects of investment business, including sales, research and trading practices, provision of investment advice, corporate finance, use and safekeeping of client funds and securities, regulatory capital, record keeping, margin practices and procedures, approval standards for individuals, anti-money laundering, periodic reporting and settlement procedures. The Financial Services Authority is responsible for administering these requirements and our compliance with them. Violations of these requirements may result in censures, fines, imposition of additional requirements, injunctions, restitution orders, revocation or modification of permissions or registrations, the suspension or expulsion from certain "controlled functions" within the financial services industry of officers or employees performing such functions or other similar consequences.

        KKR Capital Markets Limited and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Limited have passports under the single market directives to offer services cross border into all countries in the European Economic Area and Gibraltar. KKR Asset Management Ltd. is in the process of applying for a similar passport.

Other Jurisdictions

        Certain other subsidiaries or funds that we advise are registered with, have been licensed by or have obtained authorizations to operate in their respective jurisdictions outside of the United States.

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These registrations, licenses or authorizations relate to providing investment advice, broker-dealer activities, marketing of securities and other regulated activities. Failure to comply with the laws and regulations governing these subsidiaries and funds that have been registered, licensed or authorized could expose us to liability and/or damage our reputation.

        KKR Capital Markets LLC is also registered as an international dealer under the Securities Act (Ontario). This registration permits us to trade in non-Canadian equity and debt securities with certain types of investors located in Ontario, Canada.

        KKR Capital Markets Japan Limited, a joint-stock corporation, is a certified Class 2 broker-dealer registered under the Japanese Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of 2007.

        KKR MENA Limited, a Dubai International Financial Centre company, is licensed to arrange credit or deals in investments, advise on financial products or credit, and manage assets, and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

        KKR Australia Pty Limited is Australian financial services licensed and is authorized to provide advice on and deal in financial products for wholesale clients, and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

        KKR Capital Markets Asia Limited is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong to carry on dealing in securities and advising on securities regulated activities.

        KKR Holdings Mauritius, Ltd. and KKR Account Adviser (Mauritius), Ltd. are unrestricted investment advisers authorized to manage portfolios of securities and give advice on securities transactions, and are regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius.

        KKR Account Adviser (Mauritius), Ltd. is registered as a foreign institutional investor with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI, under the SEBI (Foreign Institutional Investors) Regulations, 1995, pursuant to which it is permitted to make and manage investments into listed and unlisted securities of Indian issuers.

        KKR Mauritius Direct Investments I, Ltd. is registered as an FII sub-account and is incorporated as an investment holding company in Mauritius regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius.

        KKR India Financial Services Private Limited is registered with the Reserve Bank of India as a non-deposit taking non-banking financial company and is authorized to undertake lending and financing activities.

        Afocelio Holdings Limited is registered with and regulated by the SEBI as a sub-account pursuant to which it can make investments in listed and unlisted securities of Indian issuers.

        From time to time, one or more of our investment funds may be regulated as a mutual fund by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

Website and Availability of SEC Filings

        Our Internet website is www.kkr.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference herein and is not a part of this Form 10-K. We make available free of charge on our website or provide a link on our website to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. To access these filings, go to the "KKR" portion of our "Investor Relations" page on our website, then click on "SEC Filings".

        From time to time, we may use our website as a channel of distribution of material information. Financial and other material information regarding our company is routinely posted on and accessible at www.kkr.com. In addition, you may automatically receive e-mail alerts and other information about our company by enrolling your e-mail address by visiting the "E-mail Alerts" section at under the "KKR" section of the "Investor Relations" heading at www.krr.com.

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ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

        Investing in our securities involves a degree of risk. Persons buying our securities should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information contained in this report and other filings that we make from time to time with the SEC, including our consolidated and combined financial statements and accompanying notes. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the risks described below are not the only risks we face. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could also be adversely affected by additional factors that apply to all companies generally, as well as other risks that are not currently known to us or that we currently view to be immaterial. In any such case, the trading price of our securities could decline and you may lose all or part of your original investment. While we attempt to mitigate known risks to the extent we believe to be practicable and reasonable, we can provide no assurance, and we make no representation, that our mitigation efforts will be successful.

Risks Related to Our Business

Difficult market conditions can adversely affect our business in many ways, including by reducing the value or performance of the investments that we manage or by reducing the ability of our funds to raise or deploy capital, each of which could negatively impact our net income and cash flow and adversely affect our financial condition.

        Our business is materially affected by conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions or events throughout the world, such as interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws (including laws relating to taxation), trade barriers, commodity prices, currency exchange rates and controls and national and international political circumstances (including wars, terrorist acts or security operations). These factors are outside our control and may affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity and the value of our investments. In addition, we may not be able to or may choose not to manage our exposure to these conditions and/or events. For example, as of March 31, 2009, the date of the lowest aggregate valuation of our private equity funds during the most recent downturn, the investments in our contributed private equity funds were marked down to 67% of original cost. Our profitability may also be adversely affected by our fixed costs and the possibility that we would be unable to scale back other costs within a time frame sufficient to match any decreases in net income relating to changes in market and economic conditions.

        Our funds may be affected by reduced opportunities to exit and realize value from their investments as lack of financing makes it more difficult for potential buyers to raise sufficient capital to purchase assets in our funds' portfolios, by lower than expected returns on investments, which could cause us to realize diminished or no carried interest, and by the fact that we may not be able to find suitable investments for the funds to effectively deploy capital, which could adversely affect our ability to raise new funds because we can generally only raise capital for a successor fund following the substantial deployment of capital from the existing fund. In the event of poor performance by existing funds or during periods of unfavorable fundraising conditions, as have prevailed in recent years, pressures by investors for lower fees, different fee sharing arrangements for transaction or other fees, and other concessions (for example, the inclusion of performance hurdles that would require us to generate a specified return on investment prior to our right to receive carried interest) would likely continue and could increase. The outcome of such negotiations could result in our agreement to terms that are materially less favorable to us than for prior funds we have managed. In the circumstances described above, successor funds raised by us are also likely in many instances to be smaller than our comparable predecessor funds. Investors may also seek to redeploy capital away from certain of our fixed income or other non-private equity investment vehicles, which permit redemptions on relatively short notice, in order to meet liquidity needs or invest in other asset classes. Any of these developments could adversely affect our future revenues, net income, cash flow, financial condition or ability to retain our employees.

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        During periods of difficult market or economic conditions or slowdowns (which may be across one or more industries, sectors or geographies), companies in which we have invested may experience decreased revenues, financial losses, credit rating downgrades, difficulty in obtaining access to financing and increased funding costs. These companies may also have difficulty in expanding their businesses and operations or be unable to meet their debt service obligations or other expenses as they become due, including expenses payable to us. Negative financial results in our funds' portfolio companies may result in lower investment returns for our investment funds, which could materially and adversely affect our operating results and cash flow. To the extent the operating performance of such portfolio companies (as well as valuation multiples) deteriorate or do not improve, our funds may sell those assets at values that are less than we projected or even at a loss, thereby significantly affecting those funds' performance and consequently our operating results and cash flow. During periods of economic difficulty, our investment funds' portfolio companies may also have difficulty expanding their businesses and operations or meeting their debt service obligations or other expenses as they become due, including amounts payable to us. Furthermore, negative market conditions or a specific market dislocation may result in lower investment returns for our funds, which would further adversely affect our net income. Adverse conditions may also increase the risk of default with respect to private equity, fixed income and other equity investments that we manage. Even if economic and market conditions do improve broadly, adverse conditions in particular sectors may also cause our performance to suffer.

Changes in the debt financing markets may negatively impact the ability of our private equity funds and their portfolio companies to obtain attractive financing for their investments and may increase the cost of such financing if it is obtained, which could lead to lower-yielding investments and potentially decrease our net income.

        In the event that our funds are unable to obtain committed debt financing for potential acquisitions or can only obtain debt at an increased interest rate or on unfavorable terms, our funds may have difficulty completing otherwise profitable acquisitions or may generate profits that are lower than would otherwise be the case, either of which could lead to a decrease in the investment income earned by us. Any failure by lenders to provide previously committed financing can also expose us to potential claims by sellers of businesses which we may have contracted to purchase. Similarly, our portfolio companies regularly utilize the corporate debt markets in order to obtain financing for their operations. To the extent that credit markets render such financing difficult to obtain or more expensive, this may negatively impact the operating performance of those portfolio companies and, therefore, the investment returns on our funds. In addition, to the extent that the current markets make it difficult or impossible to refinance debt that is maturing in the near term, we or some of our portfolio companies may be unable to repay such debt at maturity and may be forced to sell assets, undergo a recapitalization or seek bankruptcy protection. In addition, to the extent that conditions in the credit markets impair the ability of our portfolio companies to refinance or extend maturities on their outstanding debt, either on favorable terms or at all, the operating performance of those portfolio companies may be negatively impacted, which could impair the value of our investment in those portfolio companies and lead to a decrease in the investment income earned by us. In some cases, the inability of our portfolio companies to refinance or extend maturities may result in the inability of those companies to repay debt at maturity and may cause the companies to sell assets, undergo a recapitalization or seek bankruptcy protection, which would also likely impair the value of our investment and lead to a decrease in investment income earned by us.

Adverse economic and market conditions may adversely affect our liquidity position, which could adversely affect our business operations in the future.

        We expect that our primary liquidity needs will consist of cash required to:

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continue to grow our business, including funding our capital commitments made to existing and future funds and any net capital requirements of our capital markets companies;



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service debt obligations and any contingent liabilities that give rise to future cash payments;

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•

fund cash operating expenses;



•

pay amounts that may become due under our tax receivable agreement with KKR Holdings; and



•

make cash distributions in accordance with our distribution policy.

        These liquidity requirements are significant and, in some cases, involve capital that will remain invested for extended periods of time. As of December 31, 2010, we have approximately $923.7 million of remaining unfunded capital commitments to our investment funds. Our commitments to our funds will require significant cash outlays over time, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flows from realizations of investments to fund them. In addition, as of December 31, 2010, we had $500.0 million of borrowings outstanding under our credit facilities and debt securities and $756.3 million of cash and cash equivalents. While we have long-term committed financings with substantial facility limits, the terms of those facilities will expire in 2012, 2013 and 2016 (see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity"), and any borrowings thereunder will require refinancing or renewal, which could result in higher borrowing costs, or issuing equity. If the current credit market conditions were to worsen, we may not be able to renew all or part of these credit facilities or find alternate sources of financing on commercially reasonable terms or raise equity. In that event, our uses of cash could exceed our sources of cash, thereby potentially adversely affecting our liquidity or causing us to sell assets on unfavorable terms. In addition, the underwriting commitments for our capital markets business may require significant cash obligations, and these commitments may also put pressure on our liquidity. The holding company for our capital markets business has entered into a credit agreement that provides for revolving borrowings of up to $500 million, which can be used in connection with our ongoing business activities, including placing and underwriting securities offerings. To the extent we commit to buy and sell an issue of securities in firm commitment underwritings or otherwise, we may be required to borrow under our credit agreement for our capital markets business to fund such obligations, which, depending on the size and timing of the obligations, may limit our ability to enter into other underwriting arrangements or similar activities, service existing debt obligations or otherwise grow our business. Regulatory capital requirements may also limit the ability of our broker-dealer subsidiaries to participate in underwriting or other transactions or to allocate our capital more efficiently across our businesses.

The "clawback" or "net loss sharing" provisions in our governing agreements may give rise to a contingent obligation that may require us to return or contribute amounts to our funds and investors.

        The partnership documents governing our private equity funds generally include a "clawback" or, in certain instances, a "net loss sharing" provision that, if triggered, may give rise to a contingent obligation that may require the general partner to return or contribute amounts to the fund for distribution to investors at the end of the life of the fund. Under a "clawback" provision, upon the liquidation of a fund, the general partner is required to return, on an after-tax basis, previously distributed carry to the extent that, due to the diminished performance of later investments, the aggregate amount of carry distributions received by the general partner during the term of the fund exceed the amount to which the general partner was ultimately entitled. Excluding carried interest received by the general partners of our 1996 Fund (which was not contributed to us in the Transactions), as of December 31, 2010, the amount of carried interest we have received that is subject to this clawback obligation was $61.5 million, assuming that all applicable private equity funds were liquidated at their December 31, 2010 fair values. Had the investments in such funds been liquidated at zero value, the clawback obligation would have been $697.0 million. Under a "net loss sharing provision," upon the liquidation of a fund, the general partner is required to contribute capital to the fund, to fund 20% of the net losses on investments. In these vehicles, such losses would be required to be paid by us to the limited partners in those vehicles in the event of a liquidation of the fund regardless of whether any carried interest had previously been distributed. Based on the fair market values as of December 31, 2010, there would have been no net loss sharing obligation. If the vehicles

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were liquidated at zero value, the contingent repayment obligation in connection with the net loss sharing provision as of December 31, 2010 would have been approximately $1,094.0 million.

        Prior to the Transactions, certain of our principals who received carried interest distributions with respect to the private equity funds had personally guaranteed, on a several basis and subject to a cap, the contingent obligations of the general partners of the private equity funds to repay amounts to fund limited partners pursuant to the general partners' clawback obligations. The terms of the Transactions require that our principals remain responsible for clawback obligations relating to carry distributions received prior to the Transactions up to a maximum of $223.6 million. Carry distributions arising subsequent to the Transactions may give rise to clawback obligations that may be allocated generally to carry pool participants and the Combined Business in accordance with the terms of the instruments governing the KKR Group Partnerships. Unlike the "clawback" provisions, the Combined Business will be responsible for amounts due under net loss sharing arrangements and will indemnify our principals for any personal guarantees that they have provided with respect to such amounts.

Our earnings and cash flow are highly variable due to the nature of our business and we do not intend to provide earnings guidance, each of which may cause the value of interests in our business to be volatile.

        Our earnings are highly variable from quarter to quarter due to the volatility of investment returns of most of our funds and other investment vehicles and our principal assets and the fees earned from our businesses. We recognize earnings on investments in our funds based on our allocable share of realized and unrealized gains (or losses) reported by such funds, and a decline in realized or unrealized gains, or an increase in realized or unrealized losses, would adversely affect our net income. Fee income, which we recognize when contractually earned, can vary due to fluctuations in AUM, the number of investment transactions made by our funds, the number of portfolio companies we manage, the fee provisions contained in our funds and other investment products and transactions by our capital markets business. Fees for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were $235.2 million, $331.3 million and $435.4 million, respectively. We may create new funds or investment products or vary the terms of our funds or investment products, which may alter the composition or mix of our income from time to time. We may also experience fluctuations in our results from quarter to quarter, including our revenue and net income, due to a number of other factors, including changes in the values of our funds' investments, changes in the amount of distributions or interest earned in respect of investments, changes in our operating expenses, the degree to which we encounter competition and general economic and market conditions. Net income (loss) attributable to KKR & Co. L.P. for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2009 and 2010 was $(1,204.5) million, $849.7 million and $333.2 million, respectively. Such fluctuations may lead to variability in the value of interests in our business and cause our results for a particular period not to be indicative of our performance in future periods. It may be difficult for us to achieve steady growth in net income and cash flow on a quarterly basis, which could in turn lead to large adverse movements in the value of interests in our business.

        The timing and receipt of carried interest from our private equity funds are unpredictable and will contribute to the volatility of our cash flows. Carried interest is generally distributed to the general partner of a vehicle with a clawback or net loss sharing provision only after all of the following are met: (i) a realization event has occurred (e.g. sale of a portfolio company, dividend, etc.); (ii) the vehicle has achieved positive overall investment returns on realized investments since its inception; and (iii) all of the cost has been returned to investors with respect to certain investments with a fair value below remaining cost. Carried interest payments from private equity investments depend on our funds' performance and opportunities for realizing gains, which may be limited. It takes a substantial period of time to identify attractive private equity investment opportunities, to raise all the funds needed to make an investment and then to realize the cash value (or other proceeds) of an investment through a sale, public offering or other exit. To the extent a private equity investment is not profitable, no carried interest shall be received from our private equity funds with respect to that investment and, to the extent such investment remains unprofitable, we will only be entitled to a management fee on that investment. Even if a private equity investment proves to be profitable, it may be several years before

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any profits can be realized in cash. We cannot predict when, or if, any realization of investments will occur. In addition, if finance providers, such as commercial and investment banks, make it difficult for potential purchasers to secure financing to purchase companies in our investment funds' portfolio, it may decrease potential realization events and the potential to earn carried interest. A downturn in the equity markets also makes it more difficult to exit investments by selling equity securities. If we were to have a realization event in a particular quarter, the event may have a significant impact on our cash flows during the quarter that may not be replicated in subsequent quarters. A decline in realized or unrealized gains, or an increase in realized or unrealized losses, would adversely affect our investment income, which could further increase the volatility of our quarterly results.

A decline in the pace or size of investment by our funds or an increase in the amount of transaction fees we share with our investors would result in our receiving less revenue from transaction fees, and our inability to raise additional or successor funds could have a material adverse impact on our business.

        The transaction fees that we earn are driven in part by the pace at which our funds make investments and the size of those investments. Any decline in that pace or the size of such investments would reduce our transaction fees and could make it more difficult for us to raise capital. Many factors could cause such a decline in the pace of investment, including:

•

the inability of our investment professionals to identify attractive investment opportunities;



•

competition for such opportunities among other potential acquirers;



•

decreased availability of capital or financing on attractive terms;



•

our failure to consummate identified investment opportunities because of business, regulatory or legal complexities and adverse developments in the U.S. or global economy or financial markets; and



•

terms we may provide to our investors to increase the percentage of transaction or other fees we may share with them.

        Further, our current private equity funds and certain other funds and investment vehicles have a finite life and a finite amount of commitments from investors. Once a fund nears the end of its investment period, our success depends on our ability to raise additional or successor funds in order to keep making investments and, over the long term, earning management fees (although our funds and investment vehicles generally continue to earn management fees at a reduced fee rate after the expiration of their investment periods). For example, our 2006 Fund will end its investment period in September 2012 and has remaining uncalled capital commitments of $4.7 billion as of December 31, 2010. As the 2006 Fund draws near the end of its investment period or no longer has sufficient capital commitments to make investments, we will need to raise a successor fund for our North American private equity business. As of February 28, 2011, the 2006 Fund has committed capital to approximately $1.8 billion of pending transactions and contingent commitments, although there can be no assurance that any of these capital commitments will be drawn as contemplated for a variety of reasons, including the risk that pending transactions do not close or that contingent commitments are not deployed. To the extent we are unable to raise additional or successor funds, our AUM and revenues will likely decrease.

The investment management business is intensely competitive, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.

        We compete as an investment manager for both investors and investment opportunities. The investment management business is highly fragmented, with our competitors consisting primarily of sponsors of public and private investment funds, business development companies, investment banks, commercial finance companies and operating companies acting as strategic buyers of businesses. We believe that competition for investors is based primarily on:

•

investment performance;

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•

investor liquidity and willingness to invest;



•

investor perception of investment managers' drive, focus and alignment of interest;



•

business reputation;



•

the duration of relationships with investors;



•

the quality of services provided to investors;



•

pricing;



•

fund terms (including fees); and



•

the relative attractiveness of the types of investments that have been or will be made.

        We believe that competition for investment opportunities is based primarily on the pricing, terms and structure of a proposed investment and certainty of execution.

        Institutional investors that have suffered from decreasing returns, liquidity pressure, increased volatility or difficulty maintaining targeted asset allocations, may materially decrease or temporarily suspend making new fund investments. In addition, such investors may elect to reduce their overall portfolio allocations to alternative investments such as private equity funds, resulting in a smaller overall pool of available capital in our industry. Investors may also seek to redeploy capital away from certain of our fixed income or other investment vehicles, which permit redemptions on relatively short notice in order to meet liquidity needs or invest in other asset classes. We believe that our ability to avoid excessive redemption levels primarily depends on our funds' continued satisfactory performance, although redemptions may also be driven by other factors important to our investors, including their need for liquidity and compliance with investment mandates, even if our performance is superior. Any such redemptions would decrease our AUM and revenues. In addition, the "Volcker Rule" passed in connection with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is expected to severely limit or prohibit investments in private equity funds by U.S. banks (and in some cases non-U.S. banks). Financial institutions have represented an important class of investors in the past, or approximately 13% as of December 31, 2010, and it is possible that other institutions will not be available to replace this traditional source of capital for our private equity funds.

        To the extent we try to raise new capital in an increasingly competitive environment with less available capital, we could agree to terms less favorable to us as well as encounter significant difficulty in raising new capital. Such changes would adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

        A number of factors serve to increase our competitive risks:

•

a number of our competitors in some of our businesses may have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and more personnel than we do;



•

investors may materially decrease their allocations in new funds in light of their experiences following an economic downturn;



•

some of our competitors may have better expertise or be regarded by investors as having better expertise in a specific asset class or geographic region than we do;



•

some of our competitors have agreed to terms on their investment funds or products that may be more favorable than our funds or products, such as lower management fees, greater fee sharing, or performance hurdles for carried interest, and therefore we may be forced to match or otherwise revise our terms to be less favorable than they have been in the past;



•

some of our funds may not perform as well as competitors' funds or other available investment products;



•

investors may reduce their investments in our funds or not make additional investments in our funds based upon their available capital or due to regulatory requirements;



•

our competitors have raised or may raise significant amounts of capital, and many of them have similar investment objectives and strategies to our funds, which may create additional

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competition for investment opportunities and may reduce the size and duration of pricing inefficiencies that many alternative investment strategies seek to exploit;

•

some of these competitors may also have a lower cost of capital and access to funding sources that are not available to us, which may create competitive disadvantages for us with respect to investment opportunities;



•

some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances, different risk assessments or lower return thresholds, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and to bid more aggressively than us for investments;



•

our competitors that are corporate buyers may be able to achieve synergistic cost savings in respect of an investment, which may provide them with a competitive advantage in bidding for an investment;



•

there are relatively few barriers to entry impeding the formation of new funds, including a relatively low cost of entering these businesses, and the successful efforts of new entrants into our various lines of business, including major commercial and investment banks and other financial institutions, have resulted in increased competition;



•

some investors may prefer to invest with an investment manager that is not publicly traded, is smaller, or manages fewer investment products; and



•

other industry participants will from time to time seek to recruit our investment professionals and other employees away from us.

        We may lose investment opportunities in the future if we do not match investment prices, structures and terms offered by competitors. Alternatively, we may experience decreased investment returns and increased risks of loss if we match investment prices, structures and terms offered by competitors. Moreover, if we are forced to compete with other investment firms on the basis of price, we may not be able to maintain our current fund fee, carried interest or other terms. There is a risk that fees and carried interest in the alternative investment management industry will decline, without regard to the historical performance of a manager. Fee or carried interest income reductions on existing or future funds, without corresponding decreases in our cost structure, would adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

        In addition, if interest rates were to rise or if market conditions for competing investment products become or are favorable and such products begin to offer rates of return superior to those achieved by our funds, the attractiveness of our funds relative to investments in other investment products could decrease. This competitive pressure could adversely affect our ability to make successful investments and limit our ability to raise future funds, either of which would adversely impact our business, results of operations and cash flow.

Our structure involves complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax laws for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. These structures also are subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative change and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

        The U.S. federal income tax treatment of our unitholders depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax laws for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. You should be aware that the U.S. federal income tax rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury frequently resulting in revised interpretations of established concepts, statutory changes, revisions to regulations and other modifications and interpretations. The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of owning our common units may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time, and any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. For instance, changes to the U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could make it more difficult or impossible for us to be treated as a partnership that is not taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, affect

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the tax considerations of owning our common units, change the character or treatment of portions of our income (including, for instance, the treatment of carried interest as ordinary income rather than capital gain) and adversely impact your investment in our common units. See the discussion below under "—The U.S. Congress has considered legislation that would have (i) in some cases after a ten-year period, precluded us from qualifying as a partnership or required us to hold carried interest through taxable subsidiary corporations and (ii) taxed certain income and gains at increased rates. If any similar legislation were to be enacted and apply to us, the after tax income and gain related to our business, as well as the market price of our units, could be reduced." Our organizational documents and agreements give the Managing Partner broad authority to modify the amended and restated partnership agreement from time to time as the Managing Partner determines to be necessary or appropriate, without the consent of the unitholders, to address changes in U.S. federal, state and local income tax regulations, legislation or interpretation. In some circumstances, such revisions could have a material adverse impact on some or all unitholders. For instance, the Managing Partner could elect at some point to treat us as an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal (and applicable state) income tax purposes. If the Managing Partner were to do this, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning our common units would be materially different. Moreover, certain assumptions and conventions will be applied in an attempt to comply with applicable rules and to report income, gain, deduction, loss and credit to unitholders in a manner that reflects such unitholders' beneficial ownership of partnership items, taking into account variation in ownership interests during each taxable year because of trading activity. However, those assumptions and conventions may not be in compliance with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. It is possible that the IRS will assert successfully that the conventions and assumptions used by us do not satisfy the technical requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and/or Treasury regulations and could require that items of income, gain, deductions, loss or credit, including interest deductions, be adjusted, reallocated or disallowed in a manner that adversely affects our unitholders.

The U.S. Congress has considered legislation that would have (i) in some cases after a ten-year period, precluded us from qualifying as a partnership or required us to hold carried interest through taxable subsidiary corporations and (ii) taxed certain income and gains at increased rates. If any similar legislation were to be enacted and apply to us, the after tax income and gain related to our business, as well as the market price of our units, could be reduced.

        Over the past several years, a number of legislative and administrative proposals have been introduced and, in certain cases, have been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives on May 28, 2010 passed legislation that would have, in general, treated income and gains, including gain on sale, attributable to an interest in an investment services partnership interest, or "ISPI", as income subject to a new blended tax rate that is higher than under current law, except to the extent such ISPI would have been considered under the legislation to be a qualified capital interest. Your interest in us, our interest in KKR Fund Holdings L.P. and the interests that KKR Fund Holdings L.P. holds in entities that are entitled to receive carried interest may have been classified as ISPIs for purposes of this legislation. The U.S. Senate considered but did not pass similar legislation. It is unclear when or whether the U.S. Congress will reconsider similar legislation or what provisions will be included in any legislation, if enacted.

        The House bill provided that, for taxable years beginning ten years after the date of enactment, income derived with respect to an ISPI that is not a qualified capital interest and that is subject to the rules discussed above would not meet the qualifying income requirements under the publicly traded partnership rules. Therefore, if similar legislation is enacted, following such ten-year period, we would be precluded from qualifying as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes or be required to hold all such ISPIs through corporations, possibly U.S. corporations. If we were taxed as a U.S. corporation or required to hold all ISPIs through corporations, our effective tax rate would increase significantly. The federal statutory rate for corporations is currently 35%. In addition, we could be subject to increased state and local taxes. Furthermore, you could be subject to tax on our conversion

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into a corporation or any restructuring required in order for us to hold our ISPIs through a corporation. KKR's principals and other professionals could have faced additional adverse tax consequences under the legislation, which might thereby have adversely affected KKR's ability to offer attractive incentive opportunities for key personnel.

        The Obama administration has indicated it supports the adoption of legislation that similarly changes the treatment of carried interest for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In its published revenue proposals for 2012 the Obama administration proposes that the current law regarding the treatment of carried interest be changed for periods after December 31, 2011 to subject such income to ordinary income tax (which is taxed at a higher rate than the proposed blended tax rate under the House legislation). The Obama administration's published revenue proposals for 2010 and 2011 contained similar proposals.

        States and other jurisdictions have also considered legislation to increase taxes with respect to carried interest. For example, New York recently considered legislation under which you could be subject to New York state income tax on income in respect of our common units as a result of certain activities of our affiliates in New York. This legislation would have been retroactive to January 1, 2010. It is unclear when or whether similar legislation will be enacted.

We depend on our founders and other key personnel, the loss of whose services would have a material adverse effect on our business, results and financial condition.

        We depend on the efforts, skills, reputations and business contacts of our principals, including our founders, Henry Kravis and George Roberts, and other key personnel, the information and deal flow they and others generate during the normal course of their activities and the synergies among the diverse fields of expertise and knowledge held by our professionals. Accordingly, our success depends on the continued service of these individuals, who are not obligated to remain employed with us. The loss of the services of any of them could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, net income and cash flows and could harm our ability to maintain or grow AUM in existing funds or raise additional funds in the future.

        Our principals and other key personnel possess substantial experience and expertise and have strong business relationships with investors in our funds and other members of the business community. As a result, the loss of these personnel could jeopardize our relationships with investors in our funds and members of the business community and result in the reduction of AUM or fewer investment opportunities. For example, if any of our principals were to join or form a competing firm, our business, results and financial condition could suffer.

        Furthermore, the agreements governing our private equity funds and certain non-private equity investment funds managed by us provide that in the event certain "key persons" in these funds (for example, both of Messrs. Kravis and Roberts, and, in the case of certain geographically or product focused funds, one or more of the executives focused on such funds) generally cease to actively manage a fund, investors in the fund will be entitled to: (i) in the case of our private equity funds, reduce, in whole or in part, their capital commitments available for further investments; and (ii) in the case of certain of our fixed income or other non-private equity investment funds, withdraw all or any portion of their capital accounts, in each case on an investor-by-investor basis (which could lead possibly to a liquidation of those funds). The occurrence of such an event would likely have a significant negative impact on our revenue, net income and cash flow.

If we cannot retain and motivate our principals and other key personnel and recruit, retain and motivate new principals and other key personnel, our business, results and financial condition could be adversely affected.

        Our most important asset is our people, and our continued success is highly dependent upon the efforts of our principals and other professionals, and to a substantial degree on our ability to retain and motivate our principals and other key personnel and to strategically recruit, retain and motivate new talented personnel, including new principals. However, we may not be successful in these efforts as the

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market for qualified investment professionals is extremely competitive. Our ability to recruit, retain and motivate our professionals is dependent on our ability to offer highly attractive incentive opportunities. If legislation, such as the legislation proposed in April 2009 (and reproposed in 2010) were to be enacted, income and gains recognized with respect to carried interest would be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as ordinary income rather than as capital gain. Such legislation would materially increase the amount of taxes that we, our principals and other professionals would be required to pay, thereby adversely affecting our ability to offer such attractive incentive opportunities. See "—Risks Related to U.S. Taxation". In addition, there are pending laws and regulations that seek to regulate the compensation of certain of our employees. See "—Extensive Regulation of our business affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. The possibility of increased regulatory focus or legislative or regulatory changes could result in additional burdens on our business." The loss of even a small number of our investment professionals could jeopardize the performance of our funds and other investment products, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Efforts to retain or attract investment professionals may result in significant additional expenses, which could adversely affect our profitability.

        Our principals generally hold interests in our business through KKR Holdings. These individuals currently receive financial benefits from our business in the form of distributions and amounts funded by KKR Holdings and through their direct and indirect participation in the value of KKR Group Partnership Units held by KKR Holdings. While all of our employees and our principals receive base salaries from us, profit-based cash amounts for certain individuals currently are borne by KKR Holdings from cash reserves based upon distributions on a portion of KKR Group Partnership Units held by KKR Holdings. There can be no assurance that KKR Holdings will have sufficient cash available to continue to make profit-based cash payments and we expect that we may be required to pay a portion, or eventually all, of these cash bonus payments as KKR Holdings becomes unable to reserve cash for bonus compensation as our principals who hold equity interests through KKR Holdings become entitled to the cash distributions on the KKR Group Partnership Units held by KKR Holdings. Moreover, our principals currently receive additional equity interests in our business through equity awards granted by KKR Holdings. Although we have not suffered any dilution due to the granting of these equity awards by KKR Holdings, we expect that we will grant some or all of the types of equity awards currently granted by KKR Holdings from our Equity Incentive Plan, which will cause dilution. In addition, we may be unwilling to grant our employees additional significant equity awards in our business, and the value of the grants and distributions they receive in respect of their existing awards may be lower than anticipated. This may limit our ability to attract, retain and motivate talented personnel. In order to recruit and retain existing and future investment professionals, we may need to increase the level of compensation that we pay to them, which may cause a higher percentage of our revenue to be paid out in the form of compensation, which would have an adverse impact on our profit margins.

        In addition, there is no guarantee that the confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements to which our principals are subject, together with our other arrangements with them, will prevent them from leaving us, joining our competitors or otherwise competing with us or that these agreements will be enforceable in all cases. These agreements will expire after a certain period of time, at which point each of our principals would be free to compete against us and solicit investors in our funds, clients and employees. Depending on which entity is a party to these agreements and/or the laws applicable to them, we may not be able to enforce them or become subject to lawsuits or other claims, and these agreements might be waived, modified or amended at any time without our consent. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, and Director Independence—Confidentiality and Restrictive Covenant Agreements."

        We strive to maintain a work environment that reinforces our culture of collaboration, motivation and alignment of interests with investors. If we do not continue to develop and implement the right processes and tools to manage our changing enterprise and maintain our culture, our ability to compete

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successfully and achieve our business objectives could be impaired, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Operational risks may disrupt our businesses, result in losses or limit our growth.

        We rely heavily on our financial, accounting and other data processing systems. If any of these systems do not operate properly or are disabled, we could suffer financial loss, a disruption of our businesses, liability to our funds, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. In addition, we operate in businesses that are highly dependent on information systems and technology. Our information systems and technology may not continue to be able to accommodate our growth, may be subject to security risks, and the cost of maintaining such systems may increase from our current level. Such a failure to accommodate growth, or an increase in costs related to such information systems, could have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, we depend on our principal offices in New York City, where most of our administrative personnel are located, for the continued operation of our business. A disaster or a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses, including a disruption involving electronic communications or other services used by us or third parties with whom we conduct business, or directly affecting our principal offices, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to continue to operate our business without interruption. Our disaster recovery programs may not be sufficient to mitigate the harm that may result from such a disaster or disruption. In addition, insurance and other safeguards might only partially reimburse us for our losses, if at all. Finally, we rely on third party service providers for certain aspects of our business, including for certain information systems, technology and administration, tax and compliance matters. Any interruption or deterioration in the performance of these third parties could impair the quality of our and our funds' operations and could impact our reputation and adversely affect our businesses and limit our ability to grow.

The time and attention that our principals and other employees devote to assets that were not contributed to the KKR Group Partnerships as part of the Transactions will not financially benefit the KKR Group Partnerships and may reduce the time and attention these individuals devote to the KKR Group Partnerships' business.

        As of December 31, 2010, the unrealized value of the investments held by the 1987 Fund, the 1993 Fund and the 1996 Fund totaled $912.1 million, or approximately 1.5% of our AUM. Because we believe the general partners of these funds will not receive meaningful proceeds from further realizations, we did not acquire general partner interests in them in connection with the Transactions. We will, however, continue to provide the funds with management and other services until their liquidation. While we will not receive meaningful fees for providing these services, our principals and other employees will be required to devote a portion of their time and attention to the management of those entities. The devotion of the time and attention of our principals and employees to those activities will not financially benefit the KKR Group Partnerships and may reduce the time and attention they devote to the KKR Group Partnerships' business.

Our organizational documents do not limit our ability to enter into new lines of businesses, and we may expand into new investment strategies, geographic markets and businesses, each of which may result in additional risks and uncertainties in our businesses.

        We intend, to the extent that market conditions warrant, to seek to grow our businesses by increasing AUM in existing businesses, pursuing new investment strategies, including investment opportunities in new asset classes, developing new types of investment structures and products (such as managed accounts and structured products), and expanding into new geographic markets and businesses. We recently opened offices in Mumbai, India, Seoul, Korea and Dubai, UAE, and also developed a capital markets business in the United States, Europe and Asia, which we intend to grow and diversify. We may pursue growth through acquisitions of other investment management companies, acquisitions of critical business partners or other strategic initiatives, which may include entering into

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new lines of business. In addition, we expect opportunities will arise to acquire other alternative or traditional investment managers. To the extent we make strategic investments or acquisitions, undertake other strategic initiatives or enter into a new line of business, we will face numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with:

•

the required investment of capital and other resources;



•

the possibility that we have insufficient expertise to engage in such activities profitably or without incurring inappropriate amounts of risk or liability;



•

the possibility of diversion of management's attention from our core business;



•

the possibility of disruption of our ongoing business;



•

combining or integrating operational and management systems and controls;



•

potential increase in investor concentration; and



•

the broadening of our geographic footprint, including the risks associated with conducting operations in foreign jurisdictions, including taxation.

        Entry into certain lines of business may subject us to new laws and regulations with which we are not familiar, or from which we are currently exempt, and may lead to increased litigation and regulatory risk. If a new business generates insufficient revenues or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations will be adversely affected. Our strategic initiatives may include joint ventures, in which case we will be subject to additional risks and uncertainties in that we may be dependent upon, and subject to liability, losses or reputational damage relating to, systems, controls and personnel that are not under our control.

Extensive regulation of our businesses affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. The possibility of increased regulatory focus or legislative or regulatory changes could result in additional burdens on our business.

        Our business is subject to extensive regulation. We are subject to regulation, including periodic examinations, by governmental and self-regulatory organizations in the jurisdictions in which we operate around the world. Many of these regulators, including U.S. and foreign government agencies and self-regulatory organizations, are empowered to conduct investigations and administrative proceedings that can result in fines, suspensions of personnel or other sanctions, including censure, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or the suspension or expulsion of applicable licenses and memberships. Even if an investigation or proceeding does not result in a sanction or the sanction imposed against us or our personnel by a regulator were small in monetary amount, the adverse publicity relating to the investigation, proceeding or imposition of these sanctions could harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing clients and investors or fail to gain new clients and investors.

        As a result of market disruption as well as highly publicized financial scandals, regulators and investors have exhibited concerns over the integrity of the U.S. financial markets. Therefore, the businesses in which we operate both in the United States and outside the United States are likely to be subject to further regulation. Any changes in the regulatory framework applicable to our business, including the potential changes described below, may impose additional expenses or capital requirements on us, result in limitations in the manner in which our business is conducted, have an adverse impact upon our financial condition, results of operations or prospects, impair executive retention or recruitment and require substantial attention by senior management. It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed or may become law on our business or the markets in which we operate. If enacted, any new regulation or regulatory framework could negatively impact our funds and us in a number of ways, including increasing the funds' or our regulatory costs, imposing additional burdens on the funds' or our staff, and potentially requiring the disclosure of sensitive information. In addition, we may be adversely affected by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules by these governmental authorities and self-regulatory organizations. New laws or regulations could make

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compliance more difficult, more expensive or affect the manner in which we conduct business. Moreover, as calls for additional regulation have increased, there may be a related increase in regulatory investigations of the trading and other investment activities of alternative investment management funds and firms, including our funds and us. Such investigations may impose additional expenses on us, may require the attention of senior management and may result in fines if we or any of our funds are deemed to have violated any regulations.

        Recently, there have been a number of legislative or regulatory proposals that would affect the financial sector in the United States. In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, or Dodd-Frank Act, that President Obama signed into law on July 21, 2010, will create a significant amount of new regulation. The Dodd-Frank Act:

•

establishes the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, a federal agency charged with, among other things, designating systemically important nonbank financial companies for heightened prudential supervision and making recommendations regarding the imposition of enhanced standards regarding capital, leverage, conflicts and other requirements for financial firms deemed to pose a systemic threat to the financial health of the U.S. economy;



•

requires private equity and hedge fund advisers to register with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act (as described elsewhere in this report, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. and its wholly owned subsidiary KKR Asset Management LLC are registered as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act), to maintain extensive records and to file reports if deemed necessary for purposes of systemic risk assessment by certain governmental bodies;



•

authorizes federal regulatory agencies to review and, in certain cases, prohibit compensation arrangements at financial institutions that give employees incentives to engage in conduct deemed to encourage inappropriate risk taking by covered financial institutions;



•

requires public companies to adopt and disclose policies requiring, in the event the company is required to issue an accounting restatement, the clawback of related incentive compensation from current and former executive officers;



•

amends the Exchange Act to compensate and protect whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information to the SEC and establishes a fund to be used to pay whistleblowers who will be entitled to receive a payment equal to between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions imposed in a successful government action resulting from the information provided by the whistleblower;



•

restricts the ability of banking organizations to sponsor or invest in private equity and hedge funds;



•

grants the U.S. government resolution authority to liquidate or take emergency measures with regard to troubled financial institutions that fall outside the existing resolution authority of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC; and



•

creates a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau within the U.S. Federal Reserve.

        Many of these provisions are subject to further rule making and to the discretion of regulatory bodies, such as the FSOC. For example, the following notices of proposed rulemakings have recently been announced that may apply to us or our subsidiaries:

•

On January 25, 2011, the SEC proposed a rule to require advisers to private funds to report information for use by the FSOC in monitoring risk to the U.S. financial system. The proposed rule would create a new reporting form called Form PF.

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•

On January 26, 2011, the FSOC proposed a rule describing the criteria that will inform, and the processes and procedures established under the Dodd-Frank Act for, the FSOC's designation of systemically important nonbank financial companies. Under the proposed rule, when contemplating the designation of a company as a systemically important nonbank financial company, the FSOC would consider six broad categories: a company's size, lack of substitutes for the financial services and products that the company provides, interconnectedness with other financial firms, leverage, liquidity risk (and maturity mismatch), and existing regulatory scrutiny. A company designated as a systemically important nonbank financial company by the FSOC would be subject to a heightened degree of regulation as discussed below.



•

On February 8, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board proposed a rule establishing the requirements for determining if a company is "predominantly engaged in financial activities" and defines the terms "significant nonbank financial company" and "significant bank holding company." In particular, the rule would define a "significant nonbank financial company" to mean (i) any systemically important nonbank financial company designated by the FSOC and (ii) any other nonbank financial company with $50 billion or more in total consolidated assets as determined in accordance with applicable accounting standards.



•

On March 2, 2011, the SEC proposed a rule as part of a joint rule-making effort with federal banking regulators designed to prohibit incentive-based compensation arrangements that encourage inappropriate risk taking by covered financial institutions and arc deemed to be excessive, or that may lead to material losses. The proposed rule would cover financial institutions with total consolidated assets of at least $1 billion, including investment advisers and broker-dealers, and provide heightened requirements for financial institutions with total consolidated assets of at least $50 billion. The application of this rule to us could require us to substantially revise our compensation strategy and affect our ability to recruit and retain qualified employees.

        If the FSOC were to determine that we were a systemically important nonbank financial company, we would be subject to a heightened degree of regulation, which could include a requirement to adopt heightened standards relating to capital, leverage, liquidity, risk management, credit exposure reporting and concentration limits, restrictions on acquisitions and being subject to annual stress tests by the Federal Reserve Bank. There can be no assurance that nonbank financial firms such as us will not become subject to the aforementioned restrictions or other requirements for financial firms deemed to be systemically significant to the financial health of the U.S. economy.

        In November 2010, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers adopted the EU Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, or AIFM. The Directive will apply to AIFMs established in the EU and to non-EU AIFMs marketing securities of alternative investment funds, or AIFs, in the EU, subject to certain exemptions. AIFMs established in the EU would be required to seek authorization from their home jurisdiction regulators. EU member states will be required to implement the Directive into national law, and it is expected that it will become applicable in EU member states in mid-2013. Non-EU AIFMs will be ineligible for an EU-wide passport under the Directive until the Commission adopts an implementing measure permitting such registration. Non-EU AIFMs that do not register under the Directive may continue to market fund interests to EU professional investors if and to the extent permitted under national law, subject to certain minimum conditions. The Directive will impose new operating requirements on registered AIFMs, including rules on the structure of remuneration for certain personnel, a threshold for regulatory capital and leverage limits, as well as reporting obligations in respect of controlled EU portfolio companies. Such rules could have an adverse effect on our businesses by, among other things, (i) imposing disclosure obligations and restrictions on distributions by EU portfolio companies of the funds we manage, (ii) significantly restricting marketing activities, (iii) potentially requiring changes in our compensation structures for key personnel, thereby potentially affecting our ability to recruit and retain these

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personnel, and (iv) potentially in effect restricting our funds' investments in companies based in EU countries. The Directive could limit, both in absolute terms and in comparison to EU-based investment managers and funds, our operating flexibility, our ability to market our funds, and our fund raising and investment opportunities, as well as expose us to conflicting regulatory requirements in the United States and the EU.

        On January 1, 2011, an amendment to the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD III) entered into force. Among other things, CRD III requires EU member states to introduce stricter controls on remuneration for key employees and risk takers within specified credit institutions and investment firms. The Committee of European Banking Supervisors, or CEBS, published guidelines on the implementation of CRD III in December 2010. Also in December 2010, the UK Financial Services Authority, or FSA, amended its Remuneration Code to reflect CRD III. One of our subsidiaries established in the UK is subject to CRD III. CRD III may potentially require changes in our compensation structures for key personnel of this subsidiary, thereby potentially affecting its ability to recruit and retain these personnel.

        We regularly rely on exemptions in the United States from various requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act of 1940, or Investment Company Act, and the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA, in conducting our investment management activities. These exemptions are sometimes highly complex and may in certain circumstances depend on compliance by third parties whom we do not control. If for any reason these exemptions were to become unavailable to us, we could become subject to regulatory action or third-party claims and our business could be materially and adversely affected. See "—Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure—If we were deemed to be an "investment company" subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business." Moreover, the requirements imposed by our regulators are designed primarily to ensure the integrity of the financial markets and to protect investors in our funds and are not designed to protect holders of interests in our business. Consequently, these regulations often serve to limit our activities. In addition, the regulatory environment in which our fund investors operate may affect our business. For example, changes in antitrust laws or the enforcement of antitrust laws could affect the level of mergers and acquisitions activity, and changes in state laws may limit investment activities of state pension plans. We may also be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations imposed by the SEC, other governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets.

        We are also subject to a number of laws and regulations governing payments and contributions to political persons or other third parties, including restrictions imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, as well as trade sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The FCPA is intended to prohibit bribery of foreign governments and their officials and political parties, and requires public companies in the United States to keep books and records that accurately and fairly reflect those companies' transactions. OFAC and the U.S. Department of Commerce administer and enforce economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign states, organizations and individuals. These laws and regulations relate to a number of aspects of our business, including servicing existing investors, finding new investors, and sourcing new investments, as well as activities by the portfolio companies in our private equity portfolio or other controlled investments. Similar laws in non-U.S. jurisdictions, such as EU sanctions or the proposed provisions of the U.K. Bribery Act, as well as other anti-bribery and anti-money laundering laws in the U.S. and abroad, may also impose stricter or more onerous requirements than the FCPA, OFAC and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and implementing them may disrupt our business or cause us to incur significantly more costs to comply with those laws. Different laws may also conflict with others, making compliance with all laws more

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difficult. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we could be exposed to claims for damages, financial penalties, reputational harm, incarceration of our employees, restrictions on our operations and other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, we may be subject to successor liability for FCPA violations or other acts of bribery committed by companies in which we or our funds invest or which we or our funds acquire.

        In June 2010, the SEC approved Rule 206(4)-5 under the Advisers Act regarding "pay to play" practices by investment advisers involving campaign contributions and other payments to government clients and elected officials able to exert influence on such clients. Among other restrictions, the rule prohibits investment advisers from providing advisory services for compensation to a government client for two years, subject to very limited exceptions, after the investment adviser, its senior executives or its personnel involved in soliciting investments from government entities make contributions to certain candidates and officials in position to influence the hiring of an investment adviser by such government client. Advisers are required to implement compliance policies designed, among other matters, to track contributions by certain of the adviser's employees and engagements of third parties that solicit government entities and to keep certain records in order to enable the SEC to determine compliance with the rule. There has also been similar rule-making on a state-level regarding "pay to play" practices by investment advisers, including in California and New York. Any failure on our part to comply with these rules could cause us to lose compensation for our advisory services or expose us to significant penalties and reputational damage.

        Certain laws to which we are subject, such as certain environmental laws, takeover laws, anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws and antitrust laws, may impose requirements on us and our portfolio companies as an affiliated group and, in some cases, impose concepts such as joint and several liability or notification obligations on affiliates. For example, the United Kingdom recently introduced a Carbon Reduction Commitment Order, or CRC, which requires, under certain circumstances, that funds, general partners and portfolio companies participate in the CRC as a single organization and aggregate their respective energy consumption/emissions. In addition, the CRC imposes joint and several liability for compliance on the companies within a group. Similarly, our portfolio companies may be subject to contractual obligations which may impose obligations or restrictions on their affiliates. The interpretation of such contractual provisions will depend on local laws. Given that we do not control all of our portfolio companies and that our portfolio companies generally operate independently of each other, there is a risk that we could contravene one or more of such laws, regulations and contractual arrangements due to limited access and opportunities to monitor compliance. In addition, compliance with these laws or contracts could require us to commit significant resources and capital towards information gathering and monitoring thereby increasing our operating costs.

        Our operations are subject to regulation and supervision in a number of domestic and foreign jurisdictions, and the level of regulation and supervision to which we are subject varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is based on the type of business activity involved. See "Business—Regulation."

We are subject to substantial litigation risks and may face significant liabilities and damage to our professional reputation as a result of litigation allegations and negative publicity.

        The investment decisions we make in our investment management business and the activities of our investment professionals on behalf of our portfolio companies may subject them and us to the risk of third-party litigation arising from investor dissatisfaction with the performance of our funds, the activities of our portfolio companies and a variety of other litigation claims. See "Legal Proceedings." By way of example, we, our funds and certain of our employees are each exposed to the risks of litigation relating to investment activities in our funds and actions taken by the officers and directors (some of whom may be KKR employees) of portfolio companies, such as the risk of shareholder

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litigation by other shareholders of public companies or holders of debt instruments of companies in which our funds have significant investments. We are also exposed to risks of litigation or investigation in the event of any transactions that presented conflicts of interest that were not properly addressed.

        To the extent investors in our investment funds suffer losses resulting from fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or other similar misconduct, investors may have remedies against us, our private equity funds, our principals or our affiliates under federal securities law and state law. Investors in our funds do not have legal remedies against us, the general partners of our funds, our funds, our principals or our affiliates solely based on their dissatisfaction with the investment performance of those funds. While the general partners and investment advisers to our private equity funds, including their directors, officers, other employees and affiliates, are generally indemnified to the fullest extent permitted by law with respect to their conduct in connection with the management of the business and affairs of our private equity funds, such indemnity generally does not extend to actions determined to have involved fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct or other similar misconduct.

        If any lawsuits were brought against us and resulted in a finding of substantial legal liability, the lawsuit could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations or cause significant reputational harm to us, which could seriously impact our business. We depend to a large extent on our business relationships and our reputation for integrity and high-caliber professional services to attract and retain investors and to pursue investment opportunities for our funds. As a result, allegations of improper conduct by private litigants or regulators, whether the ultimate outcome is favorable or unfavorable to us, as well as negative publicity and press speculation about us, our investment activities or the private equity industry in general, whether or not valid, may harm our reputation, which may be more damaging to our business than to other types of businesses.

        In addition, with a workforce composed of many highly paid professionals, we face the risk of litigation relating to claims for compensation or other damages, which may, individually or in the aggregate, be significant in amount. The cost of settling any such claims could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Employee misconduct could harm us by impairing our ability to attract and retain clients and subjecting us to significant legal liability and reputational harm.

        There is a risk that our principals and employees could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our business and our authority over the assets we manage. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our employees would adversely affect our clients and us. Our business often requires that we deal with confidential matters of great significance to companies in which we may invest. If our employees were improperly to use or disclose confidential information, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships, as well as face potentially significant litigation. It is not always possible to detect or deter employee misconduct, and the extensive precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in all cases. If any of our employees were to engage in misconduct or were to be accused of such misconduct, our business and our reputation could be adversely affected.

Risks Related to the Assets We Manage

        As an investment manager, we sponsor and manage funds and vehicles that make investments worldwide on behalf of third-party investors and, in connection with those activities, are required to deploy our own capital in those investments. The investments of these funds and vehicles are subject to many risks and uncertainties which, to the extent they are material, are discussed below. In addition, we have principal investments and manage those assets on our own behalf. As a result, the gains and losses

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on such assets are reflected in our net income and the risks set forth below relating to the assets that we manage will directly affect our operating performance.

The historical returns attributable to our funds, including those presented in this report, should not be considered as indicative of the future results of our funds or of our future results or of any returns on our common units.

        We have presented in this report certain information relating to our investment returns, such as net and gross IRRs, multiples of invested capital and realized and unrealized investment values for funds that we have sponsored and managed. The historical and potential future returns of the funds that we manage are not directly linked to returns on KKR Group Partnership Units.

        Moreover, historical returns of our funds may not be indicative of the future results that you should expect from us, which could negatively impact the fees and incentive amounts received by us from such funds. In particular, our funds' future results may differ significantly from their historical results for the following reasons:

•

the rates of returns of our funds reflect unrealized gains as of the applicable valuation date that may never be realized, which may adversely affect the ultimate value realized from those funds' investments;



•

the historical returns that we present in this report derive largely from the performance of our earlier private equity funds, whereas future fund returns will depend increasingly on the performance of our newer funds, which may have little or no investment track record, and in particular you will not benefit from any value that was created in our funds prior to the Transactions to the extent such value has been realized and we may be required to repay excess amounts previously received in respect of carried interest in our funds if, upon liquidation of the fund, we have received carried interest distributions in excess of the amount to which we were entitled;



•

the future performance of our funds will be affected by macroeconomic factors, including negative factors arising from recent disruptions in the global financial markets that were not prevalent in the periods relevant to the historical return data included in this report;



•

in some historical periods, the rates of return of some of our funds have been positively influenced by a number of investments that experienced a substantial decrease in the average holding period of such investments and rapid and substantial increases in value following the dates on which those investments were made; the actual or expected length of holding periods related to investments is likely longer than such historical periods; those trends and rates of return may not be repeated in the future;



•

our newly established funds may generate lower returns during the period that they take to deploy their capital;



•

our funds' returns have benefited from investment opportunities and general market conditions in certain historical periods that may not repeat themselves, and there can be no assurance that our current or future funds will be able to avail themselves of comparable investment opportunities or market conditions; and



•

we may create new funds and investment products in the future that reflect a different asset mix in terms of allocations among funds, investment strategies, geographic and industry exposure, vintage year and economic terms.

        In addition, our historical rates of return reflect our historical cost structure, which may vary in the future, and future returns will be affected by the risks described elsewhere in this report, including risks of the industry sectors and businesses in which a particular fund invests and changes in laws. See

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"—Risks Related to our Business—Difficult market conditions can adversely affect our business in many ways, including by reducing the value or performance of the investments that we manage or by reducing the ability of our funds to raise or deploy capital, each of which could negatively impact our net income and cash flow and adversely affect our financial condition."

Valuation methodologies for certain assets in our funds can be subject to significant subjectivity and the fair value of assets established pursuant to such methodologies may never be realized, which could result in significant losses for our funds.

        There are no readily ascertainable market prices for a substantial majority of illiquid investments of our investment funds and our finance vehicles. When determining fair values of investments, we use the last reported market price as of the statement of financial condition date for investments that have readily observable market prices. When an investment does not have a readily available market price, the fair value of the investment represents the value, as determined by us in good faith, at which the investment could be sold in an orderly disposition over a reasonable period of time between willing parties other than in a forced or liquidation sale. There is no single standard for determining fair value in good faith and in many cases fair value is best expressed as a range of fair values from which a single estimate may be derived. When making fair value determinations, we typically use a market multiples approach that considers a specified financial measure (such as EBITDA) and/or a discounted cash flow analysis. KKR also considers a range of additional factors that we deem relevant, including the applicability of a control premium or illiquidity discount, the presence of significant unconsolidated assets and liabilities, any favorable or unfavorable tax attributes, the method of likely exit, estimates of assumed growth rates, terminal values, discount rates, capital structure and other factors. These valuation methodologies involve a significant degree of management judgment.

        Because valuations, and in particular valuations of investments for which market quotations are not readily available, are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have resulted if a ready market had existed. Even if market quotations are available for our investments, such quotations may not reflect the value that we would actually be able to realize because of various factors, including possible illiquidity. Our partners' capital could be adversely affected if the values of investments that we record is materially higher than the values that are ultimately realized upon the disposal of the investments and changes in values attributed to investments from quarter to quarter may result in volatility in our AUM and such changes could materially affect the results of operations that we report from period to period. There can be no assurance that the investment values that we record from time to time will ultimately be realized and that you will be able to realize the investment values that are presented in this report.

        Because there is significant uncertainty in the valuation of, or in the stability of the value of, illiquid investments, the fair values of investments reflected in an investment fund's or finance vehicle's NAV do not necessarily reflect the prices that would actually be obtained by us on behalf of the fund or finance vehicle when such investments are realized. Realizations at values significantly lower than the values at which investments have been reflected in prior fund NAVs would result in losses for the applicable fund and the loss of potential carried interest and other fees. Also, if realizations of our investments produce values materially different than the carrying values reflected in prior fund NAVs, investors may lose confidence in us, which could in turn result in difficulty in raising capital for future funds.

        Even if market quotations are available for our investments, such quotations may not reflect the value that could actually be realized because of various factors, including the possible illiquidity associated with a large ownership position, subsequent illiquidity in the market for a company's securities, future market price volatility or the potential for a future loss in market value based on poor industry conditions or the market's view of overall company and management performance.

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        In addition, because we value our entire portfolio only on a quarterly basis, subsequent events that may have a material impact on those valuations may not be reflected until the next quarterly valuation date.

Dependence on significant leverage in investments by our funds could adversely affect our ability to achieve attractive rates of return on those investments.

        Because many of our funds' investments rely heavily on the use of leverage, our ability to achieve attractive rates of return on investments will depend on our continued ability to access sufficient sources of indebtedness at attractive rates. For example, our fixed income funds use varying degrees of leverage when making investments. Similarly, in many private equity investments, indebtedness may constitute up to 70% or more of a portfolio company's total debt and equity capitalization, including debt that may be incurred in connection with the investment, and a portfolio company's indebtedness may also increase in recapitalization transactions subsequent to the company's acquisition. The absence of available sources of sufficient debt financing for extended periods of time could therefore materially and adversely affect our funds and our portfolio companies. Also, an increase in either the general levels of interest rates or in the risk spread demanded by sources of indebtedness such as we experienced during 2009 would make it more expensive to finance those investments. In addition, increases in interest rates could decrease the value of fixed-rate debt investments that our specialty finance company or our funds make. Increases in interest rates could also make it more difficult to locate and consummate private equity investments because other potential buyers, including operating companies acting as strategic buyers, may be able to bid for an asset at a higher price due to a lower overall cost of capital or their ability to benefit from a higher amount of cost savings following the acquisition of the asset. In addition, a portion of the indebtedness used to finance private equity investments often includes high-yield debt securities issued in the capital markets. Capital markets are volatile, and there may be times when we might not be able to access those markets at attractive rates, or at all, when completing an investment.

        Investments in highly leveraged entities are also inherently more sensitive to declines in revenues, increases in expenses and interest rates and adverse economic, market and industry developments. The incurrence of a significant amount of indebtedness by an entity could, among other things:

•

subject the entity to a number of restrictive covenants, terms and conditions, any violation of which would be viewed by creditors as an event of default and could materially impact our ability to realize value from our investment;



•

allow even moderate reductions in operating cash flow to render it unable to service its indebtedness;



•

give rise to an obligation to make mandatory prepayments of debt using excess cash flow, which might limit the entity's ability to respond to changing industry conditions to the extent additional cash is needed for the response, to make unplanned but necessary capital expenditures or to take advantage of growth opportunities;



•

limit the entity's ability to adjust to changing market conditions, thereby placing it at a competitive disadvantage compared to its competitors who have relatively less debt;



•

limit the entity's ability to engage in strategic acquisitions that might be necessary to generate attractive returns or further growth; and



•

limit the entity's ability to obtain additional financing or increase the cost of obtaining such financing, including for capital expenditures, working capital or other general corporate purposes.

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        A leveraged company's income and equity also tend to increase or decrease at a greater rate than would otherwise be the case if money had not been borrowed. As a result, the risk of loss associated with a leveraged company is generally greater than for companies with comparatively less debt. For example, leveraged companies could default on their debt obligations due to a decrease in revenues and cash flow precipitated by an economic downturn or by poor relative performance at such a company.

        When our funds' existing portfolio investments reach the point when debt incurred to finance those investments matures in significant amounts and must be either repaid or refinanced, those investments may materially suffer if they have generated insufficient cash flow to repay maturing debt and there is insufficient capacity and availability in the financing markets to permit them to refinance maturing debt on satisfactory terms, or at all. If the current limited availability of financing for such purposes were to persist for several years, when significant amounts of the debt incurred to finance our funds' existing portfolio investments start to come due, these investments could be materially and adversely affected.

        The majority-owned subsidiaries of KFN, the publicly traded specialty finance company managed by us, regularly use and have used significant leverage to finance their assets. An inability by such subsidiaries to continue to raise or utilize leverage or to maintain adequate levels of collateral under the terms of their collateralized loan obligations could limit their ability to grow their business, reinvest principal cash, distribute cash to KFN or fully execute their business strategy, and KFN's results of operations may be adversely affected. If KFN is unable to maintain its operating results and access to capital resources, KFN could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet its debt service and other obligations.

        Among the sectors particularly challenged by downturns in the global credit markets, including the downturn experienced from 2008 through 2010, are the CLO and leveraged finance markets. KFN has significant exposure to these markets through its CLO subsidiaries, each of which is a Cayman Islands incorporated special purpose company that issued to KFN and other investors notes secured by a pool of collateral consisting primarily of corporate leveraged loans. In most cases, KFN's CLO holdings are deeply subordinated, representing the CLO subsidiary's substantial leverage, which increases both the opportunity for higher returns as well as the magnitude of losses when compared to holders or investors that rank more senior to KFN in right of payment. KFN's CLO subsidiaries have historically experienced an increase in downgrades, depreciations in market value and defaults in respect of leveraged loans in their collateral during downturns in credit markets. There can be no assurance that market conditions giving rise to these types of consequences will not occur, re-occur, subsist or become more acute in the future. Because KFN's CLO structures involve complex collateral and other arrangements, the documentation for such structures is complex, is subject to differing interpretations and involves legal risk. In July 2009, KFN surrendered for cancellation approximately $298.4 million in aggregate of notes issued to it by certain of its CLOs. The surrendered notes were cancelled and the obligations due under such notes were deemed extinguished. Certain holders of KFN's securities issued by one of KFN's CLOs challenged the surrender for cancellation and KFN subsequently reached a settlement agreement with such holders that restricts KFN's ability to restructure certain CLO debt obligations in the future, which may reduce KFN's financial flexibility in the event of future adverse market or credit conditions. In addition, certain noteholders of one of KFN's other CLOs notified KFN of a similar dispute and KFN may be notified of similar disputes by other noteholders of its CLOs in the future.

        Any of the foregoing circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

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The due diligence process that we undertake in connection with our investments may not reveal all facts that may be relevant in connection with an investment.

        Before making our investments, we conduct due diligence that we deem reasonable and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances applicable to each investment. The objective of the due diligence process is to identify attractive investment opportunities based on the facts and circumstances surrounding an investment, to identify possible risks associated with that investment and, in the case of private equity investments, to prepare a framework that may be used from the date of an acquisition to drive operational achievement and value creation. When conducting due diligence, we typically evaluate a number of important business, financial, tax, accounting, environmental and legal issues in determining whether or not to proceed with an investment. Outside consultants, legal advisors, accountants and investment banks are involved in the due diligence process in varying degrees depending on the type of investment. Nevertheless, when conducting due diligence and making an assessment regarding an investment, we rely on resources available to us, including information provided by the target of the investment and, in some circumstances, third-party investigations. The due diligence process may at times be subjective with respect to newly organized companies for which only limited information is available. Accordingly, we cannot be certain that the due diligence investigation that we will carry out with respect to any investment opportunity will reveal or highlight all relevant facts (including fraud or bribery) that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating such investment opportunity, including the existence of contingent liabilities. We also cannot be certain that our due diligence investigations will result in investments being successful or that the actual financial performance of an investment will not fall short of the financial projections we used when evaluating that investment.

Our investment management activities involve investments in relatively high-risk, illiquid assets, and we may fail to realize any profits from these activities for a considerable period of time or lose some or all of the capital invested.

        Many of our funds hold investments in securities that are not publicly traded. In many cases, our funds may be prohibited by contract or by applicable securities laws from selling such securities for a period of time. Our funds will generally not be able to sell these securities publicly unless their sale is registered under applicable securities laws, or unless an exemption from such registration is available. The ability of many of our funds to dispose of investments is heavily dependent on the public equity markets. For example, the ability to realize any value from an investment may depend upon the ability to complete an initial public offering of the portfolio company in which such investment is made. Even if the securities are publicly traded, large holdings of securities can often be disposed of only over a substantial length of time, exposing our investment returns to risks of downward movement in market prices during the intended disposition period. Accordingly, under certain conditions, our funds may be forced to either sell securities at lower prices than they had expected to realize or defer sales that they had planned to make, potentially for a considerable period of time. We have made and expect to continue to make significant capital investments in our current and future funds. Contributing capital to these funds is risky, and we may lose some or all of the principal amount of our investments.

The investments of our funds are subject to a number of inherent risks.

        Our results are highly dependent on our continued ability to generate attractive returns from our investments. Investments made by our private equity, credit or other investments involve a number of significant risks inherent to private equity, credit and other investing, including the following:

•

companies in which investments are made may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their securities, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of their equity securities or any collateral or guarantees provided with respect to their debt;

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•

companies in which investments are made are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons and, as a result, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of those persons could have a material adverse impact on their business and prospects;



•

companies in which investments are made may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position;



•

instances of fraud and other deceptive practices committed by senior management of portfolio companies in which our funds invest may undermine our due diligence efforts with respect to such companies, and if such fraud is discovered, negatively affect the valuation of a fund's investments as well as contribute to overall market volatility that can negatively impact a fund's investment program;



•

our funds may make investments that they do not advantageously dispose of prior to the date the applicable fund is dissolved, either by expiration of such fund's term or otherwise, resulting in a lower than expected return on the investments and, potentially, on the fund itself;



•

our portfolio companies generally have capital structures established on the basis of financial projections based primarily on management judgments and assumptions, and general economic conditions and other factors may cause actual performance to fall short of these financial projections, which could cause a substantial decrease in the value of our equity holdings in the portfolio company and cause our funds' performance to fall short of our expectations; and



•

executive officers, directors and employees of an equity sponsor may be named as defendants in litigation involving a company in which an investment is made or is being made, and we or our funds may indemnify such executive officers, directors or employees for liability relating to such litigation.

We often pursue investment opportunities that involve business, regulatory, legal or other complexities.

        As an element of our investment style, we often pursue complex investment opportunities. This can often take the form of substantial business, regulatory or legal complexity that would deter other investment managers. Our tolerance for complexity presents risks, as such transactions can be more difficult, expensive and time-consuming to finance and execute; it can be more difficult to manage or realize value from the assets acquired in such transactions; and such transactions sometimes entail a higher level of regulatory scrutiny or a greater risk of contingent liabilities. We may cause our funds to acquire an investment that is subject to contingent liabilities, which could be unknown to us at the time of acquisition or, if they are known to us, we may not accurately assess or protect against the risks that they present. Acquired contingent liabilities could thus result in unforeseen losses for our funds. In addition, in connection with the disposition of an investment in a portfolio company, a fund may be required to make representations about the business and financial affairs of such portfolio company typical of those made in connection with the sale of a business. A fund may also be required to indemnify the purchasers of such investment to the extent that any such representations are inaccurate. These arrangements may result in the incurrence of contingent liabilities by a fund, even after the disposition of an investment. Any of these risks could harm the performance of our funds.

Our private equity investments are typically among the largest in the industry, which involves certain complexities and risks that are not encountered in small- and medium-sized investments.

        Our private equity funds make investments primarily in companies with relatively large capitalizations, which involves certain complexities and risks that are not encountered in small- and

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medium-sized investments. For example, larger transactions may be more difficult to finance and exiting larger deals may present incremental challenges. In addition, larger transactions may pose greater challenges in implementing changes in the company's management, culture, finances or operations, and may entail greater scrutiny by regulators, interest groups and other third parties. Recently, these constituencies have been more active in opposing some larger investments by certain private equity firms.

        In some transactions, the amount of equity capital that is required to complete a large capitalization private equity transaction has increased significantly, which has resulted in some of the largest private equity transactions being structured as "consortium transactions." A consortium transaction involves an equity investment in which two or more other private equity firms serve together or collectively as equity sponsors. While we have sought to limit where possible the amount of consortium transactions in which we have been involved, we have participated in a significant number of those transactions. Consortium transactions generally entail a reduced level of control by our firm over the investment because governance rights must be shared with the other consortium investors. Accordingly, we may not be able to control decisions relating to a consortium investment, including decisions relating to the management and operation of the company and the timing and nature of any exit, which could result in the risks described in "—Our funds have made investments in companies that we do not control, exposing us to the risk of decisions made by others with which we may not agree." Any of these factors could increase the risk that our larger investments could be less successful. The consequences to our investment funds of an unsuccessful larger investment could be more severe given the size of the investment.

Our funds and accounts have made investments in companies that we do not control, exposing us to the risk of decisions made by others with which we may not agree.

        Our funds and accounts hold investments that include debt instruments and equity securities of companies that we do not control. Such instruments and securities may be acquired by our funds and accounts through trading activities or through purchases of securities from the issuer. In addition, our funds and accounts may acquire minority equity interests, particularly when sponsoring investments as part of a large investor consortium, and may also dispose of a portion of their majority equity investments in portfolio companies over time in a manner that results in the funds or accounts retaining a minority investment. Those investments will be subject to the risk that the company in which the investment is made may make business, financial or management decisions with which we do not agree or that the majority stakeholders or the management of the company may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. If any of the foregoing were to occur, the value of investments by our funds or accounts could decrease and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could be adversely affected. As of December 31, 2010, approximately 40% of the investments in our private equity portfolio consist of structured minority investments or investments in portfolio companies in which we share substantive control rights with two or more other private equity sponsors. In addition, most of our investments in our Public Markets funds, vehicles and accounts are in companies that we do not control.

We expect to make investments in companies that are based outside of the United States, which may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in companies that are based in the United States.

        Many of our funds, vehicles and accounts invest a significant portion of their assets in the equity, debt, loans or other securities of issuers that are based outside of the United States. A substantial amount of these investments consist of private equity investments made by our private equity funds. For example, as of December 31, 2010, approximately 50% of the unrealized value of the investments of those funds and accounts was attributable to foreign investments. Investing in companies that are based in countries outside of the United States and, in particular, in emerging markets such as China,

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India and Turkey, involves risks and considerations that are not typically associated with investments in companies established in the United States. These risks may include the following:

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the possibility of exchange control regulations, restrictions on repatriation of profit on investments or of capital invested, political and social instability, nationalization or expropriation of assets;



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the imposition of non-U.S. taxes;



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differences in the legal and regulatory environment or enhanced legal and regulatory compliance;



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potential exposure to the FCPA and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments, their officials and other third parties;



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limitations on borrowings to be used to fund acquisitions or dividends;



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political risks generally, including political hostility to investments by foreign or private equity investors;



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less liquid markets;



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reliance on a more limited number of commodity inputs, service providers and/or distribution mechanisms;



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adverse fluctuations in currency exchange rates and costs associated with conversion of investment principal and income from one currency into another;



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higher rates of inflation;



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less available current information about an issuer;



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higher transaction costs;



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less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers;



•

less developed bankruptcy and other laws;



•

greater application of concepts like equitable subordination, which may, in bankruptcy or insolvency, result in the subordination of debt or other senior interests held by our investment funds, vehicles or accounts in companies in which our investment funds, vehicles or accounts also hold equity interests;



•

difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations;



•

lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards;



•

less stringent requirements relating to fiduciary duties;



•

fewer investor protections; and



•

greater price volatility.

        Certain jurisdictions, including Denmark, France, and Germany, among others, have either proposed or adopted new rules that seek to limit the amount of interest that may be deductible where the lender and the borrower are related parties (or where third party borrowings have been guaranteed by a related party) or may seek to interpret existing rules in a more restrictive manner. These measures will most likely adversely affect portfolio companies in those jurisdictions in which our investment funds and vehicles have investments, and limit the benefits of additional investments in those countries. Our business is also subject to the risk that similar measures might be introduced in other countries in which our investment funds and vehicles currently have investments or plan to invest in the future, or

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that other legislative or regulatory measures that negatively affect their respective portfolio investments might be promulgated in any of the countries in which they invest.

        In addition, certain countries such as Australia, China, India, South Korea, and Japan, where we have made investments, have sought to tax investment gains derived by nonresident investors, including private equity funds, from the disposition of the equity in companies operating in those countries. In some cases this development is the result of new legislation or changes in the interpretation of existing legislation and local authority assertions that investors have a local taxable presence or are holding companies for trading purposes rather than for capital purposes.

        Further, certain countries, such as Australia, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany, have sought to deny the benefits of income tax treaties or EU Directives with respect to withholding taxes on interest and dividends of nonresident entities, on the basis that the entity benefiting from such treaty or Directive is not the "owner" of the income, is a mere conduit inserted primarily to access treaty benefits or Directives, or otherwise lacks substance.

        Although we expect that most of our funds', vehicles' and accounts' capital commitments will be denominated in U.S. dollars, investments that are denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency will change in relation to one or more other currencies. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, levels of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation and political developments. We may employ hedging techniques to minimize these risks, but we can offer no assurance that such strategies will be effective or even available at all. If we engage in hedging transactions, we may be exposed to additional risks associated with such transactions. See "—Risk management activities may adversely affect the return on our investments."

Third party investors in our funds with commitment-based structures may not satisfy their contractual obligation to fund capital calls when requested by us, which could adversely affect a fund's operations and performance.

        Investors in certain of our funds make capital commitments to those funds that the funds are entitled to call from those investors at any time during prescribed periods. We depend on investors fulfilling their commitments when we call capital from them in order for such funds to consummate investments and otherwise pay their obligations (for example, management fees) when due. As of December 31, 2010, we have not had investors fail to honor capital calls to any extent meaningful to us. Any investor that did not fund a capital call would generally be subject to several possible penalties, including having a significant amount of existing investment forfeited in that fund. However, the impact of the penalty is directly correlated to the amount of capital previously invested by the investor in the fund and if an investor has invested little or no capital, for instance early in the life of the fund, then the forfeiture penalty may not be as meaningful. Investors may in the future also negotiate for lesser or reduced penalties at the outset of the fund, thereby inhibiting our ability to enforce the funding of a capital call. If investors were to fail to satisfy a significant amount of capital calls for any particular fund or funds, the operation and performance of those funds could be materially and adversely affected.

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Our equity investments and many of our debt investments often rank junior to investments made by others, exposing us to greater risk of losing our investment.

        In many cases, the companies in which our funds invest have, or are permitted to have, outstanding indebtedness or equity securities that rank senior to our fund's investment. By their terms, such instruments may provide that their holders are entitled to receive payments of distributions, interest or principal on or before the dates on which payments are to be made in respect of our investment. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a company in which an investment is made, holders of securities ranking senior to our investment would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before distributions could be made in respect of its investment. In addition, debt investments made by our investment funds, vehicles or accounts in our portfolio companies may be equitably subordinated to the debt investments made by third parties in our portfolio companies. After repaying senior security holders, the company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying amounts owed in respect of our investment. To the extent that any assets remain, holders of claims that rank equally with our investment would be entitled to share on an equal and ratable basis in distributions that are made out of those assets. Also, during periods of financial distress or following an insolvency, the ability of our funds to influence a company's affairs and to take actions to protect their investments may be substantially less than that of the senior creditors.

Risk management activities may adversely affect the return on our investments.

        When managing exposure to market risks, we employ hedging strategies or certain forms of derivative instruments to limit our exposure to changes in the relative values of investments that may result from market developments, including changes in prevailing interest rates and currency exchange rates. The scope of risk management activities undertaken by us varies based on the level and volatility of interest rates, prevailing foreign currency exchange rates, the types of investments that are made and other changing market conditions. The use of hedging transactions and other derivative instruments to reduce the effects of a decline in the value of a position does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the value of the position or prevent losses if the value of the position declines. However, such activities can establish other positions designed to gain from those same developments, thereby offsetting the decline in the value of the position. Such transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a position increases. Moreover, it may not be possible to limit the exposure to a market development that is so generally anticipated that a hedging or other derivative transaction cannot be entered into at an acceptable price.

        The success of any hedging or other derivative transactions that we enter into generally will depend on our ability to correctly predict market changes. As a result, while we may enter into such transactions in order to reduce our exposure to market risks, unanticipated market changes may result in poorer overall investment performance than if the hedging or other derivative transaction had not been executed. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in connection with hedging activities and price movements in a position being hedged may vary. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek or be successful in establishing a perfect correlation between the instruments used in hedging or other derivative transactions and the positions being hedged. An imperfect correlation could prevent us from achieving the intended result and could give rise to a loss. In addition, it may not be possible to fully or perfectly limit our exposure against all changes in the value of its investments, because the value of investments is likely to fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which will be beyond our control or ability to hedge.

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Certain of our funds may make a limited number of investments, or investments that are concentrated in certain geographic regions or asset types, which could negatively affect their performance to the extent those concentrated investments perform poorly.

        The governing agreements of our funds contain only limited investment restrictions and only limited requirements as to diversification of fund investments, either by geographic region or asset type. Our private equity funds generally permit up to 20% of the fund to be invested in a single company. Our most recent fully invested private equity fund focused primarily in North America, the Millennium Fund, made investments in approximately 30 portfolio companies with the largest single investment representing 8.6% of invested capital. During periods of difficult market conditions or slowdowns in these sectors or geographic regions, decreased revenues, difficulty in obtaining access to financing and increased funding costs may be exacerbated by this concentration of investments, which would result in lower investment returns. Because a significant portion of a fund's capital may be invested in a single investment or portfolio company, a loss with respect to such investment or portfolio company could have a significant adverse impact on such fund's capital. Accordingly, a lack of diversification on the part of a fund could adversely affect a fund's performance and therefore, our financial condition and results of operations.

Because we hold interests in some of our portfolio companies both through our management of private equity funds as well as through separate investments in those funds and direct co-investments, any fluctuation in the fair values of these portfolio companies may have a disproportionate impact on the investment income earned by us.

        We hold interests in some of our portfolio companies through our management of private equity funds in our Private Markets segment, as well as through separate investments in those funds and co-investments in certain portfolio companies of such funds, principally consisting of the assets we acquired from KPE in the Combination Transaction, in our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment. As of December 31, 2010, we hold significant aggregate investments in each of Dollar General Corporation, HCA Inc., Alliance Boots GmbH, The Nielsen Company B.V., and Biomet, Inc., which each represent more than 5% of our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment investment balance. As a result of our disproportionate investment in these companies, or any other portfolio companies for which similar investments are held in the future, any fluctuation in the fair values of these portfolio companies may have a disproportionate impact on the investment income earned by us as compared to other portfolio companies.

Our funds and accounts may make investments and we may engage in other business activities, which could give rise to a conflict of interest.

        Our funds and accounts invest in a broad range of asset classes throughout the corporate capital structure. These investments include investments in corporate loans and debt securities, preferred equity securities and common equity securities. In certain cases, we may manage separate funds or accounts that invest in different parts of the same company's capital structure. For example, our fixed income funds may invest in different classes of the same company's debt and may make debt investments in a company that is owned by one of our private equity funds. In those cases, the interests of our funds and accounts may not always be aligned, which could create actual or potential conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts. For example, one of our private equity funds could have an interest in pursuing an acquisition, divestiture or other transaction that, in its judgment, could enhance the value of the private equity investment, even though the proposed transaction would subject one of our fixed income fund's debt investments to additional or increased risks. Similarly, a decision to acquire material non-public information about a company while pursuing an investment opportunity for a particular fund or account may give rise to a potential conflict of interest when it results in our having to restrict the ability of other funds or accounts to take any action. Finally, our ability to effectively implement a public securities strategy may be limited to the extent that contractual

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obligations entered into in the ordinary course of our private equity business impose restrictions on our engaging in transactions that we may be interested in otherwise pursuing.

        We may also cause different investment funds to invest in a single portfolio company, for example where the fund that made an initial investment no longer has capital available to invest. Conflicts may also arise where we make principal investments for our own account. In certain cases, we will require that a transaction or investment be approved by an independent valuation expert, be subject to a fairness opinion, be based on arms-length pricing data or be calculated in accordance with a formula provided for in a fund's governing documents prior to the completion of the relevant transaction to address potential conflicts of interest. Such instances include principal transactions where we or our affiliates warehouse an investment in a portfolio company for the benefit of one or more of our funds or accounts pending the contribution of committed capital by the investors in such funds or accounts, follow-on investments by a fund other than a fund which made an initial investment in a company or transactions in which we arrange for one of our funds or accounts to buy a security from, or sell a security to, another one of our funds or accounts.

        In addition, we or our affiliates, including our capital markets business, may receive fees or other compensation in connection with specific transactions or different clients that may give rise to conflicts. The decision to take on an opportunity in one of our businesses may, as a practical matter, also limit the ability of one or our other businesses to take advantage of other related opportunities.

        Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult and we could suffer reputational damage or potential liability if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with conflicts as they arise. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our reputation which could in turn materially adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including as a result of an inability to raise additional funds and a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us.

If KFN were deemed to be an "investment company" subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could have an adverse effect on our business.

        Our business would be adversely affected if KFN, the publicly traded specialty finance company managed by us, was to be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. A person will generally be deemed to be an "investment company" for purposes of the Investment Company Act if, absent an available exception or exemption, it (i) is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities; or (ii) owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We believe KFN is not and does not propose to be primarily engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, and we do not believe that KFN has held itself out as such. KFN conducts its operations primarily through its majority-owned subsidiaries, each of which is either outside of the definition of an investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act or excepted from such definition under the Investment Company Act. KFN monitors its holdings regularly to confirm its continued compliance with the 40% test described in clause (ii) above, and restricts its subsidiaries with respect to the assets in which each of them can invest and/or the types of securities each of them may issue in order to ensure conformity with exceptions provided by, and rules and regulations promulgated under, the Investment Company Act. If the SEC were to disagree with KFN's treatment of one or more of its subsidiaries as being excepted from the Investment Company Act, with its determination that one or more of its other holdings are not investment securities for purposes of the 40% test, or with its determinations as to the nature of its business or the manner in which it holds itself out, KFN and/or one or more of its subsidiaries could be required either (i) to change substantially the manner in which it conducts its operations to avoid being subject to the Investment Company Act or (ii) to register as an investment company. Either of these would likely

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have a material adverse effect on KFN, its ability to service its indebtedness and to make distributions on its shares, and on the market price of its shares and securities, and could thereby materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Common Units

The requirements of being a public entity and sustaining growth may strain our resources.

        Our common units commenced trading on the NYSE on July 15, 2010 and we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, and requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, which are discussed below. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, significant resources and management oversight will be required. In addition, sustaining our growth will also require us to commit additional management, operational and financial resources to identify new professionals to join the firm and to maintain appropriate operational and financial systems to adequately support expansion. These activities may divert management's attention from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We may also incur costs that we have not previously incurred for expenses for compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules of the SEC and the NYSE, hiring additional accounting, legal and administrative personnel, and various other costs related to being a public company.

We have not evaluated our internal controls over financial reporting for purposes of compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

        We have not been required prior to July 2010 to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the internal control evaluation and certification requirements of Section 404 of that statute, and we will not be required to comply with all of those requirements until after we have been subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for a specified period of time. Accordingly, we have not determined whether or not our existing internal controls over financial reporting systems comply with Section 404. The internal control evaluation required by Section 404 will divert internal resources and will take a significant amount of time, effort and expense to complete. If it is determined that we are not in compliance with Section 404, we will be required to implement remedial procedures and re-evaluate our internal control over financial reporting. We may experience higher than anticipated operating expenses as well as higher independent auditor and consulting fees during the implementation of these changes and thereafter. Further, we may need to hire additional qualified personnel in order for us to comply with Section 404. If we are unable to implement any necessary changes effectively or efficiently, our operations, financial reporting or financial results could be adversely affected and we could obtain an adverse report on internal controls from our independent registered public accountants. In particular, if we are not able to implement the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, our independent registered public accountants may not be able to certify as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC, or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements is also likely to suffer if our independent registered public accounting firm reports a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us and lead to a decline in the market price of our units.

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As a limited partnership, we qualify for some exemptions from the corporate governance and other requirements of the NYSE.

        We are a limited partnership and, as a result, qualify for exceptions from certain corporate governance and other requirements of the rules of the NYSE. Pursuant to these exceptions, limited partnerships may elect, and we have elected, not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, including the requirements: (i) that the listed company have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors; and (ii) that the listed company have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors. In addition, as a limited partnership, we are not required to hold annual unitholder meetings. Accordingly, you do not have the same protections afforded to equity holders of entities that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.

Our founders are able to determine the outcome of any matter that may be submitted for a vote of our limited partners.

        As of February 28, 2011, KKR Holdings owns 470,237,329 KKR Group Partnership Units and our principals generally have sufficient voting power to determine the outcome of those few matters that may be submitted for a vote of the holders of our common units, including a merger or consolidation of our business, a sale of all or substantially all of our assets and amendments to our partnership agreement that may be material to holders of our common units. In addition, our limited partnership agreement contains provisions that enable us to take actions that would materially and adversely affect all holders of our common units or a particular class of holders of common units upon the majority vote of all outstanding voting units, and since more than a majority of our voting units are controlled by KKR Holdings, KKR Holdings has the ability to take actions that could materially and adversely affect the holders of our common units either as a whole or as a particular class.

        The voting rights of holders of our common units are further restricted by provisions in our limited partnership agreement stating that any of our common units held by a person that beneficially owns 20% or more of any class of our common units then outstanding (other than our Managing Partner or its affiliates, or a direct or subsequently approved transferee of our Managing Partner or its affiliates) cannot be voted on any matter. Our limited partnership agreement also contains provisions limiting the ability of the holders of our common units to call meetings, to acquire information about our operations, and to influence the manner or direction of our management. Our limited partnership agreement does not restrict our Managing Partner's ability to take actions that may result in our partnership being treated as an entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal (and applicable state) income tax purposes. Furthermore, holders of our common units would not be entitled to dissenters' rights of appraisal under our limited partnership agreement or applicable Delaware law in the event of a merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets or any other transaction or event.

Our limited partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce or eliminate duties (including fiduciary duties) of our Managing Partner and limit remedies available to unitholders for actions that might otherwise constitute a breach of duty. It will be difficult for unitholders to successfully challenge a resolution of a conflict of interest by our Managing Partner or by its conflicts committee.

        Our limited partnership agreement contains provisions that require holders of our common units to waive or consent to conduct by our Managing Partner and its affiliates that might otherwise raise issues about compliance with fiduciary duties or applicable law. For example, our limited partnership agreement provides that when our Managing Partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our Managing Partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligations to holders of our common units, whatsoever. When our Managing Partner, in its capacity as our general partner, or our conflicts committee is permitted to or required to make a decision in its "sole discretion" or "discretion" or that it deems "necessary or appropriate" or "necessary or advisable," then our

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Managing Partner or the conflicts committee will be entitled to consider only such interests and factors as it desires, including its own interests, and will have no duty or obligation (fiduciary or otherwise) to give any consideration to any interest of or factors affecting us or any holder of our common units and will not be subject to any different standards imposed by our limited partnership agreement, the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, which is referred to as the Delaware Limited Partnership Act, or under any other law, rule or regulation or in equity. In addition, when our Managing Partner is acting in its individual capacity, as opposed to in its capacity as our Managing Partner, it may act without any fiduciary obligation to us or our unitholders whatsoever. These standards reduce the obligations to which our Managing Partner would otherwise be held. See also "—We are a Delaware limited partnership, and there are provisions in our limited partnership agreement regarding exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors that differ from the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) in a manner that may be less protective of the interests of our common unitholders."

        The above modifications of fiduciary duties are expressly permitted by Delaware law. Hence, we and holders of our common units will only have recourse and be able to seek remedies against our Managing Partner if our Managing Partner breaches its obligations pursuant to our limited partnership agreement. Unless our Managing Partner breaches its obligations pursuant to our limited partnership agreement, we and holders of our common units will not have any recourse against our Managing Partner even if our Managing Partner were to act in a manner that was inconsistent with traditional fiduciary duties. Furthermore, even if there has been a breach of the obligations set forth in our limited partnership agreement, our limited partnership agreement provides that our Managing Partner and its officers and directors will not be liable to us or holders of our common units, for errors of judgment or for any acts or omissions unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that our Managing Partner or its officers and directors acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct. These provisions are detrimental to the holders of our common units because they restrict the remedies available to unitholders for actions that without such limitations might constitute breaches of duty including fiduciary duties.

        Whenever a potential conflict of interest exists between us and our Managing Partner, our Managing Partner may resolve such conflict of interest. If our Managing Partner determines that its resolution of the conflict of interest is on terms no less favorable to us than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or is fair and reasonable to us, taking into account the totality of the relationships between us and our Managing Partner, then it will be presumed that in making this determination, our Managing Partner acted in good faith. A holder of our common units seeking to challenge this resolution of the conflict of interest would bear the burden of overcoming such presumption. This is different from the situation with Delaware corporations, where a conflict resolution by an interested party would be presumed to be unfair and the interested party would have the burden of demonstrating that the resolution was fair.

        Also, if our Managing Partner obtains the approval of the conflicts committee of our Managing Partner, the resolution will be conclusively deemed to be fair and reasonable to us and not a breach by our Managing Partner of any duties it may owe to us or holders of our common units. This is different from the situation with Delaware corporations, where a conflict resolution by a committee consisting solely of independent directors may, in certain circumstances, merely shift the burden of demonstrating unfairness to the plaintiff. If you purchase, receive or otherwise hold a common unit, you will be treated as having consented to the provisions set forth in our limited partnership agreement, including provisions regarding conflicts of interest situations that, in the absence of such provisions, might be considered a breach of fiduciary or other duties under applicable state law. As a result, unitholders will, as a practical matter, not be able to successfully challenge an informed decision by the conflicts committee.

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        We have also agreed to indemnify our Managing Partner and any of its affiliates and any member, partner, tax matters partner, officer, director, employee agent, fiduciary or trustee of our partnership, our Managing Partner or any of our affiliates and certain other specified persons, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, joint or several, expenses (including legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, penalties, interest, settlements or other amounts incurred by our Managing Partner or these other persons. We have agreed to provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons acted in bad faith or engaged in fraud or willful misconduct. We have also agreed to provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings.

        Any claims, suits, actions or proceedings concerning the matters described above or any other matter arising out of or relating in any way to the limited partnership agreement may only be brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction.

The market price and trading volume of our common units may be volatile, which could result in rapid and substantial losses for our common unitholders.

        The market price of our common units may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common units may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our common units declines significantly, you may be unable to sell your common units at an attractive price, if at all. The market price of our common units may fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect the price of our common units or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common units include:

•

variations in our quarterly operating results or distributions, which may be substantial;



•

our policy of taking a long-term perspective on making investment, operational and strategic decisions, which is expected to result in significant and unpredictable variations in our quarterly returns;



•

failure to meet analysts' earnings estimates;



•

publication of research reports about us or the investment management industry or the failure of securities analysts to cover our common units after this offering;



•

additions or departures of our principals and other key management personnel;



•

adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we may incur or securities we may issue in the future;



•

changes in market valuations of similar companies;



•

speculation in the press or investment community;



•

changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations or differing interpretations thereof affecting our business or enforcement of these laws and regulations, or announcements relating to these matters;



•

a lack of liquidity in the trading of our common units;



•

adverse publicity about the investment management industry generally or individual scandals, specifically; and



•

general market and economic conditions.

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An investment in our common units is not an investment in any of our funds, and the assets and revenues of our funds are not directly available to us.

        Our common units are securities of KKR & Co. L.P. only. While our historical consolidated and combined financial information includes financial information, including assets and revenues, of certain funds on a consolidated basis, and our future financial information will continue to consolidate certain of these funds, such assets and revenues are available to the fund and not to us except to a limited extent through management fees, carried interest or other incentive income, distributions and other proceeds arising from agreements with funds, as discussed in more detail in this report.

Our common unit price may decline due to the large number of common units eligible for future sale, for exchange, and issuable pursuant to our equity incentive plan.

        The market price of our common units could decline as a result of sales of a large number of common units in the market or the perception that such sales could occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell common units in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. We currently have 212,770,091 common units outstanding, which amount excludes common units beneficially owned by KKR Holdings in the form of KKR Group Partnership Units discussed below and common units available for future issuance under the KKR & Co. L.P. Equity Incentive Plan, which we refer to as our Equity Incentive Plan.

        As of February 28, 2011, KKR Holdings owns 470,237,329 KKR Group Partnership Units that may be exchanged, on a quarterly basis, for our common units on a one-for-one basis, subject to customary conversion rate adjustments for splits, unit distributions and reclassifications. Except for interests held by our founders and certain interests held by other executives that were vested upon grant, interests in KKR Holdings that are held by our principals are subject to time based vesting over a five-year period or performance based vesting and, following such vesting, additional restrictions on exchange for a period of one or two years. During 2010, 43,932,663 previously unvested units in KKR Holdings vested. The market price of our common units could decline as a result of the exchange or the perception that an exchange may occur of a large number of KKR Group Partnership Units for our common units. These exchanges, or the possibility that these exchanges may occur, also might make it more difficult for holders of our common units to sell our common units in the future at a time and at a price that they deem appropriate.

        In addition, we may issue additional common units pursuant to our Equity Incentive Plan. The total number of common units which may be issued under our Equity Incentive Plan is equivalent to 15% of the number of fully diluted common units outstanding as of the beginning of the year. The amount may be increased each year to the extent that we issue additional equity. In addition, our limited partnership agreement authorizes us to issue an unlimited number of additional partnership securities and options, rights, warrants and appreciation rights relating to partnership securities for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our Managing Partner in its sole discretion without the approval of our unitholders, including awards representing our common units under the Equity Incentive Plan. In accordance with the Delaware Limited Partnership Act and the provisions of our partnership agreement, we may also issue additional partner interests that have designations, preferences, rights, powers and duties that are different from, and may be senior to, those applicable to our common units.

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Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure

Potential conflicts of interest may arise among our Managing Partner, our affiliates and us. Our Managing Partner and our affiliates have limited fiduciary duties to us and the holders of KKR Group Partnership Units, which may permit them to favor their own interests to our detriment and that of the holder of KKR Group Partnership Units.

        Our Managing Partner, which is our general partner, will manage the business and affairs of our business, and will be governed by a board of directors that is co-chaired by our founders, who also serve as our Co-Chief Executive Officers. Conflicts of interest may arise among our Managing Partner and its affiliates, on the one hand, and us and our unitholders, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts, our Managing Partner may favor its own interests and the interests of its affiliates over us and our unitholders. These conflicts include, among others, the following:

•

Our Managing Partner determines the amount and timing of the KKR Group Partnership's investments and dispositions, indebtedness, issuances of additional partner interests, tax liabilities and amounts of reserves, each of which can affect the amount of cash that is available for distribution to holders of KKR Group Partnership Units;



•

Our Managing Partner is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than us in resolving conflicts of interest, which has the effect of limiting its duties, including fiduciary duties, to us. For example, our affiliates that serve as the general partners of our funds have fiduciary and contractual obligations to our fund investors, and such obligations may cause such affiliates to regularly take actions that might adversely affect our near-term results of operations or cash flow. Our Managing Partner will have no obligation to intervene in, or to notify us of, such actions by such affiliates;



•

Because our principals indirectly hold their KKR Group Partnership Units through entities that are not subject to corporate income taxation and we hold some of the KKR Group Partnership Units through a wholly owned subsidiary that is taxable as a corporation, conflicts may arise between our principals and us relating to the selection and structuring of investments, declaring distributions and other matters;



•

As discussed above, our Managing Partner has limited its liability and reduced or eliminated its duties, including fiduciary duties, under our partnership agreement, while also restricting the remedies available to holders of KKR Group Partnership Units for actions that, without these limitations, might constitute breaches of duty, including fiduciary duties. In addition, we have agreed to indemnify our Managing Partner and its affiliates to the fullest extent permitted by law, except with respect to conduct involving bad faith, fraud or willful misconduct;



•

Our partnership agreement does not restrict our Managing Partner from paying us or our affiliates for any services rendered, or from entering into additional contractual arrangements with any of these entities on our behalf, so long as the terms of any such additional contractual arrangements are fair and reasonable to us as determined under our partnership agreement. The conflicts committee will be responsible for, among other things, enforcing our rights and those of our unitholders under certain agreements, against KKR Holdings and certain of its subsidiaries and designees, a general partner or limited partner of KKR Holdings, or a person who holds a partnership or equity interest in the foregoing entities;



•

Our Managing Partner determines how much debt we incur and that decision may adversely affect any credit ratings we receive;



•

Our Managing Partner determines which costs incurred by it and its affiliates are reimbursable by us;



•

Other than as set forth in the confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements, which are agreements between our principals and KKR Holdings and which may not be enforceable by us

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or otherwise waived, modified or amended, affiliates of our Managing Partner and existing and former personnel employed by our Managing Partner are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with us;

•

Our Managing Partner controls the enforcement of obligations owed to the KKR Group Partnerships by us and our affiliates; and



•

Our Managing Partner or our Managing Partner conflicts committee decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for us.

        See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, and Director Independence."

Certain actions by our Managing Partner's board of directors require the approval of the Class A shares of our Managing Partner, all of which are held by our senior principals.

        All of our Managing Partner's outstanding Class A shares are held by our senior principals. Although the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors of our Managing Partner is required for any action to be taken by our Managing Partner's board of directors, certain specified actions approved by our Managing Partner's board of directors will also require the approval of a majority of the Class A shares of our Managing Partner. These actions consist of the following:

•

the entry into a debt financing arrangement by us in an amount in excess of 10% of our existing long-term indebtedness (other than the entry into certain intercompany debt financing arrangements);



•

the issuance by our partnership or our subsidiaries of any securities that would (i) represent, after such issuance, or upon conversion, exchange or exercise, as the case may be, at least 5% on a fully diluted, as converted, exchanged or exercised basis, of any class of our or their equity securities or (ii) have designations, preferences, rights, priorities or powers that are more favorable than those of KKR Group Partnership Units;



•

the adoption by us of a shareholder rights plan;



•

the amendment of our limited partnership agreement or the limited partnership agreements of the KKR Group Partnerships;



•

the exchange or disposition of all or substantially all of our assets or the assets of any KKR Group Partnership;



•

the merger, sale or other combination of the partnership or any KKR Group Partnership with or into any other person;



•

the transfer, mortgage, pledge, hypothecation or grant of a security interest in all or substantially all of the assets of the KKR Group Partnerships;



•

the appointment or removal of a Chief Executive Officer or a Co-Chief Executive Officer of our Managing Partner or our partnership;



•

the termination of the employment of any of our officers or the officers of any of our subsidiaries or the termination of the association of a partner with any of our subsidiaries, in each case, without cause;



•

the liquidation or dissolution of the partnership, our Managing Partner or any KKR Group Partnership; and



•

the withdrawal, removal or substitution of our Managing Partner as our general partner or any person as the general partner of a KKR Group Partnership, or the transfer of beneficial ownership of all or any part of a general partner interest in our partnership or a KKR Group Partnership to any person other than one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.

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In addition, holders representing a majority of the Class A shares of our Managing Partner have the authority to unilaterally appoint our Managing Partner's directors and also have the ability to appoint the officers of our Managing Partner. Messrs. Kravis and Roberts collectively hold Class A shares representing a majority of the total voting power of the outstanding Class A shares. While neither of them acting alone will be able to control the voting of the Class A shares, they will be able to control the voting of such shares if they act together.

Our common unitholders do not elect our Managing Partner or vote on our Managing Partner's directors and have limited ability to influence decisions regarding our business.

        Our common unitholders do not elect our Managing Partner or its board of directors and, unlike the holders of common stock in a corporation, have only limited voting rights on matters affecting our business and therefore limited ability to influence decisions regarding our business. Furthermore, if our common unitholders are dissatisfied with the performance of our Managing Partner, they have no ability to remove our Managing Partner, with or without cause.

The control of our Managing Partner may be transferred to a third party without our consent.

        Our Managing Partner may transfer its general partner interest to a third party in a merger or consolidation or in a transfer of all or substantially all of its assets without our consent or the consent of our common unitholders. Furthermore, the members of our Managing Partner may sell or transfer all or part of their limited liability company interests in our Managing Partner without our approval, subject to certain restrictions. A new general partner may not be willing or able to form new funds and could form funds that have investment objectives and governing terms that differ materially from those of our current funds. A new owner could also have a different investment philosophy, employ investment professionals who are less experienced, be unsuccessful in identifying investment opportunities or have a track record that is not as successful as our track record. If any of the foregoing were to occur, we could experience difficulty in making new investments, and the value of our existing investments, our business, our results of operations and our financial condition could materially suffer.

We intend to pay periodic distributions to the holders of our common units, but our ability to do so may be limited by our holding company structure and contractual restrictions.

        We intend to pay cash distributions on a quarterly basis. We are a holding company and have no material assets other than the KKR Group Partnership Units that we hold through wholly-owned subsidiaries and have no independent means of generating income. Accordingly, we intend to cause the KKR Group Partnerships to make distributions on the KKR Group Partnership Units, including KKR Group Partnership Units that we directly or indirectly hold, in order to provide us with sufficient amounts to fund distributions we may declare. If the KKR Group Partnerships make such distributions, other holders of KKR Group Partnership Units, including KKR Holdings, will be entitled to receive equivalent distributions pro rata based on their KKR Group Partnership Units.

        The declaration and payment of any future distributions will be at the sole discretion of our Managing Partner, which may change our distribution policy at any time. Our Managing Partner will take into account general economic and business conditions, our strategic plans and prospects, our business and investment opportunities, our financial condition and operating results, compensation expense, working capital requirements and anticipated cash needs, contractual restrictions and obligations (including payment obligations pursuant to the tax receivable agreement), legal, tax and regulatory restrictions, restrictions or other implications on the payment of distributions by us to the holders of KKR Group Partnership Units or by our subsidiaries to us and such other factors as our Managing Partner may deem relevant. Under the Delaware Limited Partnership Act, we may not make a distribution to a partner if after the distribution all our liabilities, other than liabilities to partners on account of their partnership interests and liabilities for which the recourse of creditors is limited to

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specific property of the partnership, would exceed the fair value of our assets. If we were to make such an impermissible distribution, any limited partner who received a distribution and knew at the time of the distribution that the distribution was in violation of the Delaware Limited Partnership Act would be liable to us for the amount of the distribution for three years. Furthermore, by paying cash distributions rather than investing that cash in our businesses, we risk slowing the pace of our growth, or not having a sufficient amount of cash to fund our operations, new investments or unanticipated capital expenditures, should the need arise.

        Our ability to characterize such distributions as capital gains or qualified dividend income may be limited, and you should expect that some or all of such distributions may be regarded as ordinary income.

We will be required to pay our principals for most of the benefits relating to any additional tax depreciation or amortization deductions we may claim as a result of the tax basis step-up we receive in connection with subsequent exchanges of our common units and related transactions.

        We and one or more of our intermediate holding companies are required to acquire KKR Group Partnership Units from time to time pursuant to our exchange agreement with KKR Holdings. To the extent this occurs, the exchanges are expected to result in an increase in one of our intermediate holding company's share of the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of KKR Management Holdings L.P., primarily attributable to a portion of the goodwill inherent in our business, that would not otherwise have been available. This increase in tax basis may increase (for tax purposes) depreciation and amortization and therefore reduce the amount of income tax our intermediate holding company would otherwise be required to pay in the future. This increase in tax basis may also decrease gain (or increase loss) on future dispositions of certain capital assets to the extent tax basis is allocated to those capital assets.

        We are party to a tax receivable agreement with KKR Holdings requiring our intermediate holding company to pay to KKR Holdings or transferees of its KKR Group Partnership Units 85% of the amount of cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax that the intermediate holding company actually realizes as a result of this increase in tax basis, as well as 85% of the amount of any such savings the intermediate holding company actually realizes as a result of increases in tax basis that arise due to future payments under the agreement. A termination of the agreement or a change of control could give rise to similar payments based on tax savings that we would be deemed to realize in connection with such events. This payment obligation will be an obligation of our intermediate holding company and not of either KKR Group Partnership. In the event that any of our current or future subsidiaries become taxable as corporations and acquire KKR Group Partnership Units in the future, or if we become taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we expect that each such entity will become subject to a tax receivable agreement with substantially similar terms. While the actual increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under this agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges, the price of our common units at the time of the exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our taxable income, we expect that as a result of the size of the increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the KKR Group Partnerships, the payments that we may be required to make to our existing owners will be substantial. The payments under the tax receivable agreement are not conditioned upon our existing owners' continued ownership of us. We may need to incur debt to finance payments under the tax receivable agreement to the extent our cash resources are insufficient to meet our obligations under the tax receivable agreement as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise. In particular, our intermediate holding company's obligations under the tax receivable agreement would be effectively accelerated in the event of an early termination of the tax receivable agreement by our intermediate holding company or in the event of certain mergers, asset sales and other forms of business combinations or other changes of control. In these situations,

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our obligations under the tax receivable agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity.

        Payments under the tax receivable agreement will be based upon the tax reporting positions that our Managing Partner will determine. We are not aware of any issue that would cause the IRS to challenge a tax basis increase. However, neither KKR Holdings nor its transferees will reimburse us for any payments previously made under the tax receivable agreement if such tax basis increase, or the tax benefits we claim arising from such increase, is successfully challenged by the IRS. As a result, in certain circumstances, payments to KKR Holdings or its transferees under the tax receivable agreement could be in excess of the intermediate holding company's cash tax savings. The intermediate holding company's ability to achieve benefits from any tax basis increase, and the payments to be made under this agreement, will depend upon a number of factors, as discussed above, including the timing and amount of our future income.

If we were deemed to be an "investment company" subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

        A person will generally be deemed to be an "investment company" for purposes of the Investment Company Act if:

•

it is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities; or



•

absent an applicable exemption, it owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.

        We believe that we are engaged primarily in the business of providing investment management services and not in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. We regard ourselves as an investment management firm and do not propose to engage primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an "orthodox" investment company as defined in Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act and described in the first bullet point above.

        With regard to the provision described in the second bullet point above, we have no material assets other than our equity interests in subsidiaries, which in turn have no material assets other than equity interests, directly or indirectly, in the KKR Group Partnerships. Through these interests, we indirectly are the sole general partners of the KKR Group Partnerships and indirectly are vested with all management and control over the KKR Group Partnerships. We do not believe our equity interests in our subsidiaries are investment securities, and we believe that the capital interests of the general partners of our funds in their respective funds are neither securities nor investment securities. Accordingly, based on our determination, less than 40% of the partnership's total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis are comprised of assets that could be considered investment securities. In this regard, as a result of the Combination Transaction, we succeeded to a significant number of investment securities previously held by KPE and now held by our KKR Group Partnerships. We monitor these holdings regularly to confirm our continued compliance with the 40% test described in the second bullet point above. The need to comply with this 40% test may cause us to restrict our business and subsidiaries with respect to the assets in which we can invest and/or the types of securities we may issue, sell investment securities, including on unfavorable terms, acquire assets or businesses that could change the nature of our business or potentially take other actions which may be viewed as adverse by the holders of our common units, in order to ensure conformity with exceptions provided by, and rules and regulations promulgated under, the Investment Company Act.

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        The Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder contain detailed parameters for the organization and operation of investment companies. Among other things, the Investment Company Act and the rules thereunder limit or prohibit transactions with affiliates, impose limitations on the issuance of debt and equity securities, generally prohibit the issuance of options and impose certain governance requirements. We intend to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If anything were to happen which would cause the partnership to be deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, requirements imposed by the Investment Company Act, including limitations on our capital structure, ability to transact business with affiliates (including us) and ability to compensate key employees, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as currently conducted, impair the agreements and arrangements between and among the partnership, the KKR Group Partnerships and KKR Holdings, or any combination thereof, and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may be required to limit the amount of investments that we make as a principal, potentially divest assets acquired in the Combination Transaction or otherwise conduct our business in a manner that does not subject it to the registration and other requirements of the Investment Company Act.

We are a Delaware limited partnership, and there are certain provisions in our limited partnership agreement regarding exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors that differ from the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) in a manner that may be less protective of the interests of our common unitholders.

        Our limited partnership agreement provides that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law our directors or officers will not be liable to us. However, under the DGCL, a director or officer would be liable to us for (i) breach of duty of loyalty to us or our shareholders, (ii) intentional misconduct or knowing violations of the law that are not done in good faith, (iii) improper redemption of shares or declaration of dividend, or (iv) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, our limited partnership agreement provides that we indemnify our directors and officers for acts or omissions to the fullest extent provided by law. However, under the DGCL, a corporation can only indemnify directors and officers for acts or omissions if the director or officer acted in good faith, in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation, and, in criminal action, if the officer or director had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. Accordingly, our limited partnership agreement may be less protective of the interests of our common unitholders, when compared to the DGCL, insofar as it relates to the exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors. See also "—Our limited partnership agreement contains provisions that reduce or eliminate duties (including fiduciary duties) of our limited partner and limit remedies available for unitholders for actions that might otherwise constitute a breach of duty. It will be difficult for unitholders to successfully challenge a resolution of a conflict of interest by our Managing Partner or by its conflicts committee."

Risks Related to U.S. Taxation

If we were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax or state tax purposes, then our distributions to you would be substantially reduced and the value of our common units could be adversely affected.

        The value of your investment in us depends in part on our being treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which requires that 90% or more of our gross income for every taxable year consist of qualifying income, as defined in Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code, and that our partnership not be registered under the Investment Company Act. Qualifying income generally includes dividends, interest, capital gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks and securities and certain other forms of investment income. We intend to structure our investments so as to satisfy these requirements, including by generally holding investments that generate non-qualifying income through one or more subsidiaries that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

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Nonetheless, we may not meet these requirements, may not correctly identify investments that should be owned through corporate subsidiaries, or current law may change so as to cause, in any of these events, us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject us to U.S. federal income tax. We have not requested, and do not plan to request, a ruling from the IRS, on this or any other matter affecting us.

        If we were treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would pay U.S. federal, state and local income tax on our taxable income at the applicable tax rates. Distributions to you would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses, deductions or credits would otherwise flow through to you. Because a tax would be imposed upon us as a corporation, our distributions to you would be substantially reduced which could cause a reduction in the value of our common units.

        Current law may change, causing us to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal or state income tax purposes or otherwise subjecting us to entity level taxation. See "—Risks Related to Our Business—The U.S. Congress has considered legislation that would have (i) in some cases after a ten-year period, precluded us from qualifying as a partnership or required us to hold carried interest through taxable subsidiary corporations and (ii) taxed certain income and gains at increased rates. If any similar legislation were to be enacted and apply to us, the after tax income and gain related to our business, as well as the market price of our units, could be reduced." Because of widespread state budget deficits, several states are evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise or other forms of taxation. If any state were to impose a tax upon us as an entity, our distributions to you would be reduced.

You will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on your share of our taxable income, regardless of whether you receive any cash distributions, and may recognize income in excess of cash distributions.

        As long as 90% of our gross income for each taxable year constitutes qualifying income as defined in Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code and we are not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act on a continuing basis, and assuming there is no change in law, we will be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a partnership and not as an association or a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation. As a result, a U.S. unitholder will be subject to U.S. federal, state, local and possibly, in some cases, foreign income taxation on its allocable share of our items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit (including its allocable share of those items of any entity in which we invest that is treated as a partnership or is otherwise subject to tax on a flow through basis) for each of our taxable years ending with or within the unitholder's taxable year, regardless of whether or when such unitholder receives cash distributions. See "—Risks Related to Our Business—The U.S. Congress has considered legislation that would have (i) in some cases after a ten-year period, precluded us from qualifying as a partnership or required us to hold carried interest through taxable subsidiary corporations and (ii) taxed certain income and gains at increased rates. If any similar legislation were to be enacted and apply to us, the after tax income and gain related to our business, as well as the market price of our units, could be reduced."

        You may not receive cash distributions equal to your allocable share of our net taxable income or even the tax liability that results from that income. In addition, certain of our holdings, including holdings, if any, in a controlled foreign corporation, or a CFC, a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC, or entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, may produce taxable income prior to the receipt of cash relating to such income, and holders of our common units that are U.S. taxpayers may be required to take such income into account in determining their taxable income. In the event of an inadvertent termination of the partnership status for which the IRS has granted limited relief, each holder of our common units may be obligated to make such adjustments as the IRS may require to maintain our status as a partnership. Such adjustments may require the holders of our common units to recognize additional amounts in income during the years in which they hold

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such units. In addition, because of our methods of allocating income and gain among holders of our common units, you may be taxed on amounts that accrued economically before you became a unitholder. Consequently, you may recognize taxable income without receiving any cash.

        Although we expect that distributions we make should be sufficient to cover a holder's tax liability in any given year that is attributable to its investment in us, no assurances can be made that this will be the case. We will be under no obligation to make any such distribution and, in certain circumstances, may not be able to make any distributions or will only be able to make distributions in amounts less than a holder's tax liability attributable to its investment in us. Accordingly, each holder should ensure that it has sufficient cash flow from other sources to pay all tax liabilities.

Our interests in certain of our businesses will be held through an intermediate holding company, which will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes; such corporation will be liable for significant taxes and may create other adverse tax consequences, which could potentially adversely affect the value of our common units.

        In light of the publicly traded partnership rules under U.S. federal income tax laws and other requirements, we will hold our interest in certain of our businesses through an intermediate holding company, which will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This intermediate holding company will be liable for U.S. federal income taxes on all of its taxable income and applicable state, local and other taxes. These taxes would reduce the amount of distributions available to be made on our common units. In addition, these taxes could be increased if the IRS were to successfully reallocate deductions or income of the related entities conducting our business.

Complying with certain tax-related requirements may cause us to invest through foreign or domestic corporations subject to corporate income tax or enter into acquisitions, borrowings, financings or arrangements we may not have otherwise entered into.

        In order for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and not as an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation, we must meet the qualifying income exception discussed above on a continuing basis and we must not be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. In order to effect such treatment, we or our subsidiaries may be required to invest through foreign or domestic corporations subject to corporate income tax, or enter into acquisitions, borrowings, financings or other transactions we may not have otherwise entered into.

We may hold or acquire certain investments through an entity classified as a PFIC or CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

        Certain of our investments may be in foreign corporations or may be acquired through a foreign subsidiary that would be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such an entity may be PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, we may hold certain investments in foreign corporations that are treated as CFCs. Unitholders may experience adverse U.S. tax consequences as a result of holding an indirect interest in a PFIC or CFC. These investments may produce taxable income prior to the receipt of cash relating to such income, and unitholders that are U.S. taxpayers will be required to take such income into account in determining their taxable income. In addition, gain on the sale of a PFIC or CFC may be taxable at ordinary income rates.

Tax gain or loss on disposition of our common units could be more or less than expected.

        If you sell your common units, you will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and your adjusted tax basis allocated to those common units. Prior distributions to you in excess of the total net taxable income allocated to you will have decreased the tax basis in your common units. Therefore, such excess distributions will increase your taxable gain, or decrease your

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taxable loss, when the common units are sold and may result in a taxable gain even if the sale price is less than the original cost. A portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be ordinary income to you.

Unitholders may be allocated taxable gain on the disposition of certain assets, even if they did not share in the economic appreciation inherent in such assets.

        We and our intermediate holding company will be allocated taxable gains and losses recognized by the KKR Group Partnerships based upon our percentage ownership in each KKR Group Partnership. Our share of such taxable gains and losses generally will be allocated pro rata to our unitholders. In some circumstances, under the U.S. federal income tax rules affecting partners and partnerships, the taxable gain or loss allocated to a unitholder may not correspond to that unitholder's share of the economic appreciation or depreciation in the particular asset. This is primarily an issue of the timing of the payment of tax, rather than a net increase in tax liability, because the gain or loss allocation would generally be expected to be offset as a unitholder sold units.

Non-U.S. persons face unique U.S. tax issues from owning our common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.

        We expect that we will be engaged in a U.S. trade or business for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including by reason of investments in U.S. real property holding corporations and natural resource assets, such as oil and gas properties, in which case some portion of its income would be treated as effectively connected income with respect to non-U.S. holders, or ECI. To the extent our income is treated as ECI, non-U.S. unitholders generally would be subject to withholding tax on their allocable share of such income, would be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return for such year reporting their allocable share of income effectively connected with such trade or business and any other income treated as ECI, and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular U.S. tax rates on any such income (state and local income taxes and filings may also apply in that event). Non-U.S. unitholders that are corporations may also be subject to a 30% branch profits tax on their actual or deemed distributions of such income. In addition, distributions to non-U.S. unitholders that are attributable to the sale of a U.S. real property interest may also be subject to 30% withholding tax. Also, non-U.S. unitholders may be subject to 30% withholding on allocations of our income that are U.S. source fixed or determinable annual or periodic income under the Internal Revenue Code, unless an exemption from or a reduced rate of such withholding applies and certain tax status information is provided.

Tax-exempt entities face unique tax issues from owning common units that may result in adverse tax consequences to them.

        Generally, a tax-exempt partner of a partnership would be treated as earning unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI, if the partnership regularly engages in a trade or business that is unrelated to the exempt function of the tax-exempt partner, if the partnership derives income from debt-financed property or if the partner interest itself is debt-financed. As a result of incurring acquisition indebtedness we will derive income that constitutes UBTI. Consequently, a holder of common units that is a tax-exempt organization will likely be subject to unrelated business income tax to the extent that its allocable share of our income consists of UBTI. In addition, a tax-exempt investor may be subject to unrelated business income tax on a sale of their common units.

We cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, and we will therefore adopt certain income tax accounting conventions that may not conform with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of our common units.

        Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of common units, we will adopt depreciation, amortization and other tax accounting positions that may not conform with all aspects of existing

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Treasury regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our unitholders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain on the sale of common units and could have a negative impact on the value of our common units or result in audits of and adjustments to our unitholders' tax returns.

        In addition, our taxable income and losses will be determined and apportioned among investors using conventions we regard as consistent with applicable law. As a result, if you transfer your common units, you may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized by us after the date of transfer. Similarly, a transferee may be allocated income, gain, loss and deduction realized by us prior to the date of the transferee's acquisition of our common units. A transferee may also bear the cost of withholding tax imposed with respect to income allocated to a transferor through a reduction in the cash distributed to the transferee.

The sale or exchange of 50% or more of our capital and profit interests will result in the termination of our partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

        We will be considered to have been terminated for U.S. federal income tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a 12-month period. A termination of our partnership would, among other things, result in the closing of our taxable year for all unitholders.

Holders of our common units may be subject to state and local taxes and return filing requirements as a result of owning such units.

        In addition to U.S. federal income taxes, holders of our common units may be subject to other taxes, including state and local taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes that are imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we do business or own property now or in the future, even if the holders of our common units do not reside in any of those jurisdictions. Holders of our common units may be required to file state and local income tax returns and pay state and local income taxes in some or all of these jurisdictions. Further, holders of our common units may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. It is the responsibility of each unitholder to file all U.S. federal, state and local tax returns that may be required of such unitholder. Our counsel has not rendered an opinion on the state or local tax consequences of owning our units.

We do not expect to be able to furnish to each unitholder specific tax information within 90 days after the close of each calendar year, which means that holders of common units who are U.S. taxpayers should anticipate the need to file annually a request for an extension of the due date of their income tax return.

        As a publicly traded partnership, our operating results, including distributions of income, dividends, gains, losses or deductions, and adjustments to carrying basis, will be reported on Schedule K-1 and distributed to each unitholder annually. It may require longer than 90 days after the end of our fiscal year to obtain the requisite information from all lower-tier entities so that K-1s may be prepared for the unitholders. For this reason, holders of common units who are U.S. taxpayers should anticipate the need to file annually with the IRS (and certain states) a request for an extension past April 15 or the otherwise applicable due date of their income tax return for the taxable year.

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ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

        None.

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

        Our principal executive offices are located in leased office space at 9 West 57th Street, New York, New York. We also lease the space for our other offices. We do not own any real property. We consider these facilities to be suitable and adequate for the management and operations of our business.

ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

        From time to time, KKR is involved in various legal proceedings, lawsuits and claims incidental to the conduct of KKR's business. KKR's business is also subject to extensive regulation, which may result in regulatory proceedings against it.

        In August 1999, KKR and certain of its current and former personnel were named as defendants in an action brought in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Alabama, or the Alabama State Court, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy in connection with the acquisition of Bruno's, Inc. ("Bruno's"), one of KKR's former portfolio companies, in 1995. The action was removed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. In April 2000, the complaint in this action was amended to further allege that KKR and others violated state law by fraudulently misrepresenting the financial condition of Bruno's in an August 1995 subordinated notes offering relating to the acquisition and in Bruno's subsequent periodic financial disclosures. In January 2001, the action was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. In August 2009, the action was consolidated with a similar action brought against the underwriters of the August 1995 subordinated notes offering, which is pending before the Alabama State Court. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, in an unspecified amount to be proven at trial, for losses they allegedly suffered in connection with their purchase of the subordinated notes. In September 2009, KKR and the other named defendants moved to dismiss the action. In April 2010, the Alabama State Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to dismiss. As suggested by the Alabama State Court, KKR has filed a petition seeking an immediate appeal of certain rulings made by the Alabama State Court when denying the motion to dismiss. In June and July 2010, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the parties to brief KKR's petition and the petition filed by another defendant seeking an immediate appeal of certain rulings made by the Alabama State Court. Briefing on both petitions has been completed, and both petitions are under consideration. KKR believes that this action is without merit and intends to defend it vigorously.

        In 2005, KKR and certain of its current and former personnel were named as defendants in now-consolidated shareholder derivative actions in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware relating to PRIMEDIA Inc. ("PRIMEDIA"), one of its portfolio companies. These actions claim that the board of directors of PRIMEDIA breached its fiduciary duty of loyalty in connection with the redemption of certain shares of preferred stock in 2004 and 2005. The plaintiffs further allege that KKR benefited from these redemptions of preferred stock at the expense of PRIMEDIA and that KKR usurped a corporate opportunity of PRIMEDIA in 2002 by purchasing shares of its preferred stock at a discount on the open market while causing PRIMEDIA to refrain from doing the same. In February 2008, the special litigation committee formed by the board of directors of PRIMEDIA, following a review of plaintiffs' claims, filed a motion to dismiss the actions. In March 2010, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, including additional allegations concerning purchases of PRIMEDIA's preferred stock in 2002. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages on behalf of PRIMEDIA and an award of attorneys' fees and costs. On June 16, 2010, the Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware entered an order dismissing all claims asserted against the defendants. On July 15, 2010,

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the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of Delaware. Briefing on the appeal has been completed, and oral argument is scheduled to be held before the Supreme Court of Delaware on March 23, 2011. KKR believes that this action is without merit and intends to defend it vigorously.

        In December 2007, KKR, along with 15 other private equity firms and investment banks, were named as defendants in a purported class action complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by shareholders in certain public companies acquired by private equity firms since 2003. In August 2008, KKR, along with 16 other private equity firms and investment banks, were named as defendants in a purported consolidated amended class action complaint. The suit alleges that from mid-2003 defendants have violated antitrust laws by allegedly conspiring to rig bids, restrict the supply of private equity financing, fix the prices for target companies at artificially low levels, and divide up an alleged market for private equity services for leveraged buyouts. The amended complaint seeks injunctive relief on behalf of all persons who sold securities to any of the defendants in leveraged buyout transactions and specifically challenges nine transactions. The first stage of discovery concluded on or about April 15, 2010. On August 18, 2010, the court granted plaintiffs' motion to proceed to a second stage of discovery in part and denied it in part. Specifically, the court granted a second stage of discovery as to eight additional transactions but denied a second stage of discovery as to any transactions beyond the additional eight specified transactions. On October 7, 2010, the plaintiffs filed under seal a fourth amended complaint that includes new factual allegations concerning the additional eight transactions and the original nine transactions. The fourth amended complaint also includes eight purported sub-classes of plaintiffs seeking unspecified monetary damages and/or restitution with respect to eight of the original nine challenged transactions and new separate claims against two of the original nine challenged transactions. On January 13, 2011, the court granted a motion filed by KKR and certain other defendants to dismiss all claims alleged by a putative damages sub-class in connection with the acquisition of PanAmSat Corp. and separate claims for relief related to the PanAmSat transaction. The second phase of discovery permitted by the court is ongoing. KKR believes that this action is without merit and intends to defend it vigorously.

        KKR, along with two other private equity firms (collectively the "Sponsors"), is a defendant in purported shareholder class actions arising out of the proposed acquisition of Del Monte Foods Company ("Del Monte") by Blue Acquisition Group, Inc. and Blue Merger Sub Inc., entities controlled by private equity funds affiliated with the Sponsors (the "Acquisition Entities"). The complaints generally allege, among other things, that the Del Monte directors breached their fiduciary duties to Del Monte stockholders by agreeing to sell Del Monte at an unfair price and through an unfair process and by filing an allegedly materially misleading and incomplete proxy statement. The complaints also generally allege that the Sponsors, the Acquisition Entities and Del Monte aided and abetted the directors' breaches of fiduciary duties. The complaints all seek injunctive relief, rescission of the merger agreement, damages and attorneys' fees. The various complaints filed in the Delaware Chancery Court were consolidated on December 31, 2010, under the caption In re Del Monte Foods Company Shareholders Litigation, No. 6027-VCL. On February 14, 2011, the Delaware Chancery Court issued a ruling which, among other things, found on the preliminary record before the court that the plaintiff had demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of its aiding and abetting claim against the Sponsors, including KKR. The ruling enjoined defendants from proceeding with the Del Monte stockholder vote, previously scheduled for February 15, 2011, for twenty days and preliminarily enjoined certain deal protection provisions of the merger agreement pending the stockholder vote. On February 18, 2011, an amended complaint was filed in the Delaware action. The amended complaint asserts claims for: (i) breach of fiduciary duty against the Del Monte directors, (ii) aiding and abetting the directors' breaches of fiduciary duty against the Sponsors, the Acquisition Entities, and Barclays Capital, Inc. ("Barclays"), which served as a financial advisor to Del Monte in connection with the proposed acquisition, (iii) breach of contract against the Sponsors arising from a confidentiality agreement between the Sponsors and Del Monte, and (iv) tortuous interference with contract against Barclays arising from the aforementioned confidentiality agreement between the Sponsors and

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Del Monte. Similar shareholder actions are pending against the Del Monte directors, Sponsors and/or the Acquisition Entities in California Superior Court and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. There has been limited activity in these California cases to date. KKR is still evaluating these Delaware and California actions and expects to defend them vigorously. On March 4, 2011, KKR received a request from the SEC for information regarding issues relating to the Del Monte transaction. KKR is cooperating with the SEC's inquiry.

        In August 2008, KFN, the members of KFN's board of directors and certain of its former executive officers, including certain of KKR's current and former personnel, were named in a putative class action complaint filed by the Charter Township of Clinton Police and Fire Retirement System in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Charter Litigation"). In March 2009, the lead plaintiff filed an amended complaint, which deleted as defendants the members of KFN's board of directors and named as individual defendants only KFN's former chief executive officer, KFN's former chief operating officer, and KFN's former chief financial officer (the "KFN Individual Defendants," and, together with KFN, "KFN Defendants). The amended complaint alleges that KFN's April 2007 registration statement and prospectus and the financial statements incorporated therein contained material omissions in violation of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), regarding the risks and potential losses associated with KFN's real estate-related assets, KFN's ability to finance its real estate-related assets, and the adequacy of KFN's loss reserves for its real estate-related assets (the "alleged Section 11 violation"). The amended complaint further alleges that, pursuant to Section 15 of the Securities Act, the KFN Individual Defendants have legal responsibility for the alleged Section 11 violation. The amended complaint seeks judgment in favor of the lead plaintiff and the putative class for unspecified damages allegedly sustained as a result of the KFN Defendants' alleged misconduct, costs and expenses incurred by the lead plaintiff in the action, rescission or a rescissory measure of damages, and equitable or injunctive relief. In April 2009, the KFN Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim under the Securities Act. In November 2010, the court granted the defendants' motion and dismissed the case with prejudice. Plaintiffs' time to take an appeal has run, and the judgment is now final.

        In August 2008, the members of KFN's board of directors and its executive officers (the "Kostecka Individual Defendants") were named in a shareholder derivative action brought by Raymond W. Kostecka, a purported shareholder, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco (the "California Derivative Action"). KFN was named as a nominal defendant. The complaint in the California Derivative Action asserts claims against the Kostecka Individual Defendants for breaches of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, and unjust enrichment in connection with the conduct at issue in the Charter Litigation, including the filing of the April 2007 Registration Statement with alleged material misstatements and omissions. The complaint seeks judgment in favor of KFN for unspecified damages allegedly sustained as a result of the Kostecka Individual Defendants' alleged misconduct, costs and disbursements incurred by plaintiff in the action, equitable and/or injunctive relief, restitution, and an order directing KFN to reform its corporate governance and internal procedures to prevent a recurrence of the alleged misconduct. By order dated January 8, 2009, the court approved the parties' stipulation to stay the proceedings in the California Derivative Action until the Charter Litigation is dismissed on the pleadings or KFN files an answer to the Charter Litigation. In November 2010, the court dismissed the Charter Litigation with prejudice and that judgment is final. The plaintiff in the California Derivative Action subsequently agreed to withdraw his complaint, and a stipulated order dismissing the California Derivative Action was entered on February 14, 2011.

        In March 2009, the members of KFN's board of directors and certain of its executive officers (the "Haley Individual Defendants") were named in a shareholder derivative action brought by Paul B. Haley, a purported shareholder, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New

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York (the "New York Derivative Action"). KFN was named as a nominal defendant. The complaint in the New York Derivative Action asserts claims against the Haley Individual Defendants for breaches of fiduciary duty, breaches of the duty of full disclosure, and for contribution in connection with the conduct at issue in the Charter Litigation, including the filing of the April 2007 registration statement with alleged material misstatements and omissions. The complaint seeks judgment in favor of KFN for unspecified damages allegedly sustained as a result of the Haley Individual Defendants' alleged misconduct, a declaration that the Haley Individual Defendants are liable to KFN under Section 11 of the Securities Act, costs and disbursements incurred by plaintiff in the action, and an order directing KFN to reform its corporate governance and internal procedures to prevent a recurrence of the alleged misconduct. By order dated June 18, 2009, the Court approved the parties' stipulation to stay the proceedings in the New York Derivative Action until the Charter Litigation is dismissed on the pleadings or KFN files an answer to the Charter Litigation. In November 2010, the court dismissed the Charter Litigation with prejudice and that judgment is final. The plaintiff in the New York Derivative Action subsequently agreed to withdraw his complaint, and a stipulated order dismissing the New York Derivative Action was entered on February 4, 2011.

        In September 2006 and March 2009, KKR received requests for certain documents and other information from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") in connection with the DOJ's investigation of private equity firms to determine whether they have engaged in conduct prohibited by United States antitrust laws. KKR is fully cooperating with the DOJ's investigation.

        In December 2009, KKR's subsidiary KKR Asset Management LLC (formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (Fixed Income) LLC) received a request from the SEC for information in connection with its examination of certain investment advisers in order to review trading procedures and valuation practices in the collateral pools of structured credit products. The SEC also requested information regarding the surrender by KFN for cancellation, without consideration, of certain notes that had been issued to KFN by collateral pools of structured credit products. KKR cooperated with the SEC's examination, which is now completed.

        In January 2011, KKR received a request from the SEC for information regarding its investors and clients that are sovereign wealth funds and certain services provided by KKR. KKR is cooperating with the SEC's investigation.

        Moreover, in the ordinary course of business KKR is subject to regulatory examinations or investigations and also is and can be both the defendant and the plaintiff in numerous actions with respect to acquisitions, bankruptcy, insolvency and other types of proceedings. Such lawsuits may involve claims that adversely affect the value of certain investments owned by KKR's funds.

        No loss contingency has been recorded in any period presented in the financial statements, because such losses are either not probable or reasonably estimable (or both) at the present time. Such matters are subject to many uncertainties and their ultimate outcomes are not predictable with assurance. Consequently, management is unable to estimate a range of potential loss, if any, related to these matters. At this time, management has not concluded whether the final resolution of any of these matters will have a material adverse effect upon the financial statements.

ITEM 4.    (REMOVED AND RESERVED)

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PART II

ITEM 5.    MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

        Our common units representing limited partner interests are traded on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "KKR." Our common units began trading on the NYSE on July 15, 2010.

        The following table sets forth the high and low intra-day sales prices per unit of our common units, for the periods indicated, as reported by the NYSE.

        The number of holders of record of our common units as of February 28, 2011 was four. This does not include the number of unitholders that hold shares in "street-name" through banks or broker-dealers.

Distribution Policy

        On September 8, 2010, we paid a distribution of $0.08 per common unit to record holders of common units at the close of business on August 24, 2010 and on November 26, 2010, we paid a distribution of $0.15 per common unit to record holders of common units at the close of business on November 12, 2010. We have declared a distribution of $0.29 payable on March 21, 2011 to recordholders of common units at the close of business on March 7, 2011.

        We intend to make quarterly cash distributions in amounts that in the aggregate are expected to constitute substantially all of the cash earnings of our investment management business each year in excess of amounts determined by our Managing Partner to be necessary or appropriate to provide for the conduct of our business, to make appropriate investments in our business and our investment funds and to comply with applicable law and any of our debt instruments or other agreements. We do not intend to distribute gains on principal investments, other than certain additional distributions that KKR may determine to make. These additional distributions, if any, are intended to cover certain tax liabilities, as calculated by KKR. When KKR & Co. L.P. receives distributions from the KKR Group Partnerships (the holding companies of the KKR business), KKR Holdings receives its pro rata share of such distributions from the KKR Group Partnerships. For the purposes of our distribution policy, our distributions are expected to consist of an amount consisting of (i) FRE, (ii) carry distributions received from our investment funds which have not been allocated as part of our carry pool, and (iii) certain tax distributions, if any. This amount is expected to be reduced by (i) corporate and applicable local taxes if any, (ii) noncontrolling interests, and (iii) amounts determined by our Managing Partner to be necessary or appropriate for the conduct of our business and other matters as discussed above.

        Our distribution policy reflects our belief that distributing substantially all of the cash earnings of our investment management business will provide transparency for holders of our common units and impose on us an investment discipline with respect to the businesses and strategies that we pursue.

        Because we make our investment in our business through a holding company structure and the applicable holding companies do not own any material cash-generating assets other than their direct

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and indirect holdings in KKR Group Partnership Units, distributions are expected to be funded in the following manner:

•

First, the KKR Group Partnerships will make distributions to holders of KKR Group Partnership Units, including the holding companies through which we invest, in proportion to their percentage interests in the KKR Group Partnerships;



•

Second, the holding companies through which we invest will distribute to us the amount of any distributions that they receive from the KKR Group Partnerships, after deducting any applicable taxes, and



•

Third, we will distribute to holders of our units the amount of any distributions that we receive from our holding companies through which we invest.

        The partnership agreements of the KKR Group Partnerships provide for cash distributions, which are referred to as tax distributions, to the partners of such partnerships if our Managing Partner determines that the taxable income of the relevant partnership will give rise to taxable income for its partners. We expect that the KKR Group Partnerships will make tax distributions only to the extent distributions from such partnerships for the relevant year were otherwise insufficient to cover such tax liabilities. Generally, these tax distributions are expected to be computed based on an estimate of the net taxable income of the relevant partnership allocable to a partner multiplied by an assumed tax rate equal to the highest effective marginal combined U.S. federal, state and local income tax rate prescribed for an individual or corporate resident in New York, New York (taking into account the non-deductibility of certain expenses and the character of our income). A portion of any such tax distributions received by us, net of amounts used by our subsidiaries to pay their tax liability, is expected to be distributed by us. Such amounts are generally expected to be sufficient to permit U.S. holders of KKR Group Partnership Units to fund their estimated U.S. tax obligations (including any federal, state and local income taxes) with respect to their distributive shares of net income or gain, after taking into account any withholding tax imposed on us. There can be no assurance that, for any particular holder, such distributions will be sufficient to pay such holder's actual U.S. or non-U.S. tax liability.

        The declaration and payment of any distributions are subject to the discretion of the board of directors of our Managing Partner and the terms of our limited partnership agreement. There can be no assurance that distributions will be made as intended or at all or that such distributions will be sufficient to pay any particular KKR & Co. L.P. unitholder's actual U.S. or non-U.S. tax liability. In particular, the amount and timing of distributions will depend upon a number of factors, including, among others, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, including funding of investment commitments and debt service and future debt repayment obligations; general economic and business conditions; our strategic plans and prospects; our results of operations and financial condition; our capital requirements; legal, contractual and regulatory restrictions on the payment of distributions by us or our subsidiaries, including restrictions contained in our debt agreements, and such other factors as the board of directors of our Managing Partner considers relevant. We are not currently restricted by any contract from making distributions to our unitholders, although certain of our subsidiaries are bound by credit agreements that contain certain restricted payment and/or other covenants, which may have the effect of limiting the amount of distributions that we receive from our subsidiaries. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity—Sources of Cash". In addition, under Section 17-607 of the Delaware Limited Partnership Act, we will not be permitted to make a distribution if, after giving effect to the distribution, our liabilities would exceed the fair value of our assets.

        Prior to the Transactions, we made cash distributions to our principals when we received significant distributions from our funds. In addition, we made cash distributions to our senior principals annually in connection with the income received by our management companies. These distributions were not

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made pursuant to any agreement. Prior to the Transactions, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, we made cash distributions of $211.1 million to our principals.

Common Unit Repurchases in the Fourth Quarter of 2010

        No purchases of our common units were made by us or on our behalf in the fourth quarter of the year ended December 31, 2010. During the fourth quarter of 2010, 7,867,865 KKR Group Partnership Units were exchanged by KKR Holdings and our principals for an equal number of our common units, resulting in an increase in our ownership of the KKR Group Partnerships and a corresponding decrease in the ownership of the KKR Group Partnerships by KKR Holdings.

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ITEM 6.    SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

        The following tables set forth our selected historical consolidated and combined financial data (i) as of and for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. We derived the selected historical consolidated and combined financial data as of December 31, 2010 and 2009 and for the years ending December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 from the audited consolidated and combined financial statements included elsewhere in this report. We derived the selected historical combined data as of December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007 from our audited combined financial statements which are not included in this report. You should read the following data together with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated and combined financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report.

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ITEM 7.    MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

        The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated and combined financial statements of KKR & Co. L.P., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, and the related notes included elsewhere in this report. The historical consolidated and combined financial data discussed below reflects the historical results and financial position of KKR. In addition, this discussion and analysis contains forward looking statements and involves numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors." Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward looking statements.

Overview

        Led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, we are a leading global investment firm with $61.0 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2010 and a 34-year history of leadership, innovation and investment excellence. When our founders started our firm in 1976, they established the principles that guide our business approach today, including a patient and disciplined investment process; the alignment of our interests with those of our investors, portfolio companies and other stakeholders; and a focus on attracting world class talent.

        Our business offers a broad range of investment management services to our investors and provides capital markets services to our firm, our portfolio companies and our clients. Throughout our history, we have consistently been a leader in the private equity industry, having completed more than 185 private equity investments with a total transaction value in excess of $435 billion. In recent years, we have grown our firm by expanding our geographical presence and building businesses in new areas, such as fixed income, capital markets, infrastructure and natural resources. Our new efforts build on our core principles and industry expertise, allowing us to leverage the intellectual capital and synergies in our businesses, and to capitalize on a broader range of the opportunities we source. Additionally, we have increased our focus on servicing our existing investors and have invested meaningfully in developing relationships with new investors.

        We conduct our business through 14 offices on four continents, providing us with a pre-eminent global platform for sourcing transactions, raising capital and carrying out capital markets activities. We have grown our AUM significantly, from $15.1 billion as of December 31, 2004 to $61.0 billion as of December 31, 2010, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 26.1%. Our growth has been driven by value that we have created through our operationally focused investment approach, the expansion of our existing businesses, our entry into new lines of business, innovation in the products that we offer investors, an increased focus on providing tailored solutions to our clients and the integration of capital markets distribution activities.

        As a global investment firm, we earn management, monitoring, transaction and incentive fees for providing investment management, monitoring and other services to our funds, vehicles, managed accounts, specialty finance company and portfolio companies, and we generate transaction-specific income from capital markets transactions. We earn additional investment income from investing our own capital alongside that of our investors and from the carried interest we receive from our funds and certain of our other investment vehicles. A carried interest entitles the sponsor of a fund to a specified percentage of investment gains that are generated on third-party capital that is invested.

        We seek to consistently generate attractive investment returns by employing world-class people, following a patient and disciplined investment approach and driving growth and value creation in the assets we manage. Our investment teams have deep industry knowledge and are supported by a substantial and diversified capital base, an integrated global investment platform, the expertise of operating consultants and senior advisors and a worldwide network of business relationships that provide a significant source of investment opportunities, specialized knowledge during due diligence and substantial resources for creating and realizing value for stakeholders. We believe that these

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aspects of our business will help us continue to expand and grow our business and deliver strong investment performance in a variety of economic and financial conditions.

Business Segments

Private Markets

        Through our Private Markets segment, we manage and sponsor a group of private equity funds and co-investment vehicles that invest capital for long-term appreciation, either through controlling ownership of a company or strategic minority positions. These investment funds and co-investment vehicles are managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., a registered investment adviser. We also manage investments in infrastructure and in natural resources.

Public Markets

        Through our Public Markets segment, we manage a specialty finance company, a number of investment funds, structured finance vehicles and separately managed accounts that invest capital in liquid credit strategies, such as leveraged loans and high yield bonds, and less liquid credit products such as mezzanine debt and special situations investments. These funds, vehicles and accounts are managed by KKR Asset Management LLC (which we refer to as "KAM"), an SEC registered investment adviser. We intend to continue to grow this business by leveraging our global investment platform, experienced investment professionals and the ability to adapt our investment strategies to different market conditions to capitalize on investment opportunities that may arise at every level of the capital structure and across market cycles.

Capital Markets and Principal Activities

        Our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment combines the assets we acquired in the Combination Transaction with our global capital markets business. Our capital markets business supports our firm, our portfolio companies and our clients by providing tailored capital markets advice and developing and implementing both traditional and non-traditional capital solutions for investments and companies seeking financing. Our capital markets services include arranging debt and equity financing for transactions, placing and underwriting securities offerings, structuring new investment products and providing capital markets services. To allow us to carry out these activities, we are registered or authorized to carry out certain broker-dealer activities in various countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

        The assets that we acquired in the Combination Transaction, which include investments in our private equity funds and co-investments in certain portfolio companies of such funds, provide us with a significant source of capital to further grow and expand our business, increase our participation in our existing portfolio of businesses and further align our interests with those of our investors and other stakeholders. We believe that the market experience and skills of professionals in our capital markets business and the investment expertise of professionals in our Private Markets and Public Markets segments will allow us to continue to grow and diversify this asset base over time.

Business Environment

        As a global investment firm, we are affected by financial and economic conditions in the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere in the world. Global equity markets have a substantial effect on our financial condition and results of operations, as equity prices significantly impact the valuation of our portfolio companies and, therefore, the investment income that we recognize. For our private equity investments that are publicly listed and thus have readily observable market prices, global equity markets have a direct impact on valuation. For other private equity investments, these markets have an indirect impact on valuation as we typically utilize a market multiples valuation approach as one of the methodologies to ascertain fair value. In addition, the receptivity of equity markets to initial public offerings, or IPOs, as well as subsequent equity offerings by companies already public, impacts our ability to realize investment gains. During 2010, we completed IPOs of three portfolio companies: NXP

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Semiconductors N.V. (Nasdaq: NXPI), China Modern Dairy Holdings Ltd. (HKG: 1117), and TDC (OMX: TDC).

        Global equity markets carried positive momentum from the third quarter of 2010 through the end of the year. Against a stronger, yet still mixed economic backdrop, equity prices rallied as robust corporate earnings and improving investor sentiment outweighed concerns over lingering weak economic indicators such as unemployment and housing prices.

        The S&P 500 gained 10.8% in the fourth quarter and finished 2010 up 15.1% for the full year. Global equity markets were similarly strong, with the MSCI World Index up 9.1% and 12.3% for the fourth quarter and full year 2010, respectively. The below investment grade credit markets also performed well, with the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan index increasing 3.2% and 10.1% for the fourth quarter and full year 2010, respectively, and the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master II Index increasing 3.1% and 15.2% over the same periods.

        Conditions in global credit markets also have a substantial effect on our financial condition and results of operations. We rely on the ability of our funds to obtain committed debt financing on favorable terms in order to complete new private equity transactions. Similarly, our portfolio companies regularly require access to the global credit markets in order to obtain financing for their operations and to refinance or extend the maturities of their outstanding indebtedness. To the extent that conditions in the credit markets render such financing difficult to obtain or more expensive, this may negatively impact the operating performance of those portfolio companies and, therefore, our investment returns on our funds. In addition, during economic downturns or periods of slow economic growth, the inability to refinance or extend the maturities of portfolio company debt (and thereby extend our investment holding period) can be significant to our ability to realize investment gains from these portfolio companies when economic conditions improve.

        Our Public Markets segment manages a number of funds and other accounts that invest capital in a variety of credit products, including leveraged loans, high yield bonds and mezzanine debt. As a result, conditions in global credit markets have a direct impact on both the performance of these investments as well as the ability to make additional investments on favorable terms in the future.

        In addition, our Capital Markets and Principal Activities segment generates fees through a variety of activities in connection with the issuance and placement of equity and debt securities and credit facilities, with the size of fees generally correlated to overall transaction sizes. As a result, the conditions in global equity and credit markets impacts both the frequency and size of fees generated by this segment.

        Finally, conditions in commodity markets may impact the performance of our portfolio companies in a variety of ways, including through direct or indirect impact on the cost of the inputs used in their operations as well as the pricing and profitability of the products or services that they sell.

Reorganization and Combination Transactions

        Prior to October 1, 2009, KKR's business was conducted through multiple entities for which there was no single holding entity, but were under common control of senior KKR principals ("Senior Principals"), and in which Senior Principals and KKR's other principals and individuals held ownership interests (collectively, the "Predecessor Owners").

        In order to facilitate the Combination Transaction, KKR completed the Reorganization Transactions, pursuant to which KKR's business was reorganized under two partnerships, KKR Management Holdings L.P. and KKR Fund Holdings L.P., which are collectively referred to as the "KKR Group Partnerships." The reorganization involved a contribution of certain equity interests in KKR's businesses that were held by KKR's Predecessor Owners to the KKR Group Partnerships in exchange for 100% of the interests in the KKR Group Partnerships.

        On October 1, 2009, KKR & Co. L.P. and KPE, completed the Combination Transaction to combine the investment management business of KKR with the assets and liabilities of KPE. The Combination Transaction involved the contribution of all of KPE's assets and liabilities to the KKR

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Group Partnerships in exchange for a 30% interest in the KKR Group Partnerships. Upon completion of the Combination Transaction, KPE changed its name to KKR & Co. (Guernsey) L.P. and was traded publicly on Euronext Amsterdam under the symbol "KKR" until the NYSE listing on July 15, 2010. We refer to the Reorganization Transaction and Combination Transaction together as the "Transactions."

        Immediately following the Transactions, KKR Guernsey held a 30% economic interest in the KKR Group Partnerships through Group Holdings and our principals retained a 70% economic interest in the KKR Group Partnerships through KKR Holdings.

U.S. Listing

        On July 15, 2010, KKR & Co. L.P. became listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). In connection with the NYSE listing, KKR Guernsey contributed its 30% interest held through Group Holdings to KKR & Co. L.P. in exchange for NYSE-listed common units of KKR & Co. L.P. and distributed those common units to holders of KKR Guernsey units (referred to hereafter as the "In-Kind Distribution"). Because the assets of KKR Guernsey consisted solely of its interests in Group Holdings, the In-Kind Distribution resulted in the dissolution of KKR Guernsey and the delisting of its units from Euronext Amsterdam. As of July 15, 2010, KKR & Co. L.P. both indirectly controlled the KKR Group Partnerships and indirectly held KKR Group Partnership units representing at that time a 30% economic interest in KKR's business. The remaining 70% of the KKR Group Partnership units were held by KKR's principals through KKR Holdings. Subsequent to the NYSE listing, KKR Holdings and our principals exchanged a portion of their interests in the KKR Group Partnerships for common units, and as of December 31, 2010, KKR & Co. L.P. owned 31.15% of the KKR Group Partnership units and our principals owned 68.85% through KKR Holdings. From time to time, the percentage ownership in the KKR Group Partnerships may continue to change as KKR Holdings and/or KKR's principals exchange KKR Group Partnership Units for KKR & Co. L.P. common units.

Basis of Financial Presentation

        The consolidated and combined financial statements include the accounts of our management and capital markets companies, the general partners of certain unconsolidated co-investment vehicles and the general partners of our private equity and fixed income funds and their respective consolidated funds, where applicable. As of December 31, 2010, our private markets segment included eight consolidated investment funds and ten unconsolidated co-investment vehicles. Our public markets segment included five consolidated investment funds and six unconsolidated vehicles comprised of three investment funds, two separately managed accounts and one specialty finance company.

        In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), a substantial number of our funds are consolidated notwithstanding the fact that we hold only a minority economic interest in those funds. The majority of our consolidated funds consist of those funds in which we hold a general partner or managing member interest that gives us substantive controlling rights over such funds. With respect to our consolidated funds, we generally have operational discretion and control over the funds and investors do not hold any substantive rights that would enable them to impact the funds' ongoing governance and operating activities.

        When a fund is consolidated, we reflect the assets, liabilities, fees, expenses, investment income and cash flows of the consolidated fund on a gross basis. The majority of the economic interests in the consolidated fund, which are held by third party investors, are reflected as noncontrolling interests. While the consolidation of a consolidated fund does not have an effect on the amounts of net income attributable to KKR or KKR's partners' capital that KKR reports, the consolidation does significantly impact the financial statement presentation. This is due to the fact that the assets, liabilities, fees, expenses and investment income of the consolidated funds are reflected on a gross basis while the allocable share of those amounts that are attributable to noncontrolling interests are reflected as single line items. The single line items in which the assets, liabilities, fees, expenses and investment income attributable to noncontrolling interests are recorded are presented as noncontrolling interests in

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consolidated entities on the statements of financial condition and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in consolidated entities on the statements of operations.

        Historically, the noncontrolling interests attributable to the ownership of KPE's investment partnership, KKR PEI Investments, L.P., by KPE were included in our financial statements. These noncontrolling interests were removed from the financial statements on October 1, 2009, because these interests were contributed to KKR in the Transactions. Subsequent to the Transactions, KKR holds 100% of the economic and controlling interests in KPE's investment partnership. Therefore, we continue to consolidate KPE's investment partnership and its economic interests are no longer reflected as noncontrolling interests as of the date of the Transactions.

Key Financial Measures

Fees

        Fees consist primarily of (i) monitoring and transaction fees from providing advisory and other services to our portfolio companies, (ii) management and incentive fees from providing investment management services to unconsolidated funds, a specialty finance company, structured finance vehicles, and separately managed accounts, and (iii) fees from capital markets activities. These fees are based on the contractual terms of the governing agreements. A substantial portion of monitoring and transaction fees earned in connection with managing portfolio companies are shared with fund investors.

        Fees reported in our consolidated and combined financial statements do not include the management fees that we earn from consolidated funds, because those fees are eliminated in consolidation. However, because those management fees are earned from, and funded by, third-party investors who hold noncontrolling interests in the consolidated funds, net income attributable to KKR is increased by the amount of the management fees that are eliminated in consolidation. Accordingly, while the consolidation of funds impacts the amount of fees that are recognized in our financial statements, it does not affect the ultimate amount of net income attributable to KKR or KKR's partners' capital.

Expenses

Employee Compensation and Benefits Expense

        Employee compensation and benefits expense includes salaries, bonuses, equity based compensation and profit sharing plans as described below.

        Prior to October 1, 2009, our employee compensation and benefits expense has consisted of base salaries and bonuses paid to employees who were not our Senior Principals. Payments made to our Senior Principals included partner distributions that were paid to our Senior Principals and accounted for as capital distributions rather than employee compensation and benefits expense. Accordingly, we did not record any employee compensation and benefits charges for payments made to our Senior Principals for periods prior to the completion of the Transactions.

        Following the completion of the Transactions, all of our Senior Principals and other personnel receive a base salary that is paid by us and accounted for as employee compensation and benefits expense. Our employees are also eligible to receive discretionary cash bonuses based on performance, our overall profitability and other matters. While cash bonuses paid to most employees are funded by us and result in customary employee compensation and benefits charges, cash bonuses that are paid to certain of our most senior personnel are funded by KKR Holdings with distributions that it receives on its KKR Group Partnership Units. Any distributions received by KKR Holdings in excess of amounts that principals are otherwise entitled to through their vested interests in KKR Holdings are reflected in compensation expense in the statement of operations. KKR Holdings has also funded all of the equity and equity based awards that have been granted to our employees to date.

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        In connection with and subsequent to the Transactions, our principals and other employees received equity and equity based awards in KKR Holdings. The awards were granted in connection with the Transactions and were issued in exchange for interests that our Predecessor Owners contributed to our holding companies as part of the Transactions as well as to promote broad ownership of our firm among our personnel and further align their interests with those of our investors. We believe that grants to our principals and other employees, which include vested and unvested interests in the KKR Group Partnerships, provide an additional means for allowing us to incentivize, motivate and retain qualified professionals that will help us continue to grow our business over the long-term.

        While we do not bear the economic costs associated with the equity and equity based grants that KKR Holdings has made to our personnel or the cash bonuses that it pays to any of our principals with distributions received on its KKR Group Partnership Units, we are required to recognize employee compensation and benefits expense with respect to a significant portion of these items. Because these amounts are funded by KKR Holdings and not by us, these expenses represent non-cash charges for us and do not impact our distributable earnings.

        We recognize non-cash charges relating to equity and equity based grants that are funded by KKR Holdings based on the grant-date fair value of the award. Awards that do not require the satisfaction of future service or performance criteria (vested awards) are expensed immediately. Awards that require the satisfaction of future service or performance criteria are expensed over the relevant service period, adjusted for the lack of distribution participation and estimated forfeitures of awards not expected to vest. We expect to record additional non-cash charges in future periods as and when interests in KKR Holdings vest and when new equity is granted.

        In addition, we are permitted to allocate to our principals, other professionals and selected other individuals a portion of the carried interest that we earn from our current and future funds that provide for carried interest payments. As and when investment income is recognized with respect to this carried interest, we record a corresponding amount of employee compensation and benefits expense.

General, Administrative and Other Expense

        General, administrative and other expense consists primarily of professional fees paid to legal advisors, accountants, advisors and consultants, insurance costs, travel and related expenses, communications and information services, depreciation and amortization charges and other general and operating expenses.

        In addition, interests in KKR Holdings were granted to our operating consultants in connection with and subsequent to the Transactions. The vesting of these interests gives rise to periodic general, administrative and other expense in the statements of operations. General, administrative and other expense recognized on unvested units is calculated based on the fair value of an interest in KKR Holdings (determined using the closing price of KKR's common units) on each reporting date and subsequently adjusted for the actual fair value of the award at each vesting date. Accordingly, the measured value of these interests will not be finalized until each vesting date. Additionally, the calculation of the compensation expense considers estimated forfeitures of awards not expected to vest.

        While we do not bear the economic costs associated with the equity and equity based grants that KKR Holdings has made to our operating consultants, we are required to recognize general, administrative and other expense with respect to a significant portion of these items. Because these amounts are funded by KKR Holdings and not by us, these expenses represent non-cash charges for us and do not impact our distributable earnings.

        General, administrative and other expense is not borne by fund investors and is not offset by credits attributable to fund investors' noncontrolling interests in consolidated funds.

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Fund Expenses

        Fund expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with pursuing potential investments that do not result in completed transactions (such as travel expenses, professional fees and research costs) and other costs associated with administering our private equity funds. A substantial portion of fund expenses are borne by fund investors.

Investment Income (Loss)

Net Gains (Losses) from Investment Activities

        Net gains (losses) from investment activities consist of realized gains and losses and unrealized gains and losses arising from our investment activities. The majority of our net gains (losses) from investment activities are related to our private equity investments. Fluctuations in net gains (losses) from investment activities between reporting periods is driven primarily by changes in the fair value of our investment portfolio as well as the realization of investments. The fair value of, as well as the ability to recognize gains from, our private equity investments is significantly impacted by the global equity markets, which, in turn, affects the net gains (losses) from investment activities recognized in any given period. Upon the disposition of an investment, previously recognized unrealized gains and losses are reversed and an offsetting realized gain or loss is recognized in the current period. Since our investments are carried at fair value, fluctuations between periods could be significant due to changes to the inputs to our valuation process over time. For a further discussion of our fair value measurements and fair value of investments, see "—Critical Accounting Policies—Fair Value of Investments."

Dividend Income

        Dividend income consists primarily of distributions that private equity funds receive from portfolio companies in which they invest. Private equity funds recognize dividend income primarily in connection with (i) dispositions of operations by portfolio companies, (ii) distributions of excess cash generated from operations from portfolio companies and (iii) other significant refinancings undertaken by portfolio companies.

Interest Income

        Interest income consists primarily of interest that is received on our cash balances, principal assets and fixed income instruments in which consolidated funds invest.

Interest Expense

        Interest expense is incurred from credit facilities entered into by KKR, Senior Notes issued by KKR, and debt outstanding at our consolidated funds entered into with the objective of enhancing returns, which are not direct obligations of the general partners of our private equity funds or management companies. In addition to these interest costs, we capitalize debt financing costs incurred in connection with new debt arrangements. Such costs are amortized into interest expense using either the interest method or the straight-line method, as appropriate.

Income Taxes

        Prior to the completion of the Transactions, we operated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and mainly as a corporate entity in non-U.S. jurisdictions. As a result, income was not subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. Historically, the tax liability related to income earned by us represented obligations of our principals and has not been reflected in the historical financial statements. Income taxes shown on the statements of operations prior to the Transactions are attributable to the New York City unincorporated business tax and other income taxes on certain entities located in non-U.S. jurisdictions.

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        Following the Transactions, the KKR Group Partnerships and certain of their subsidiaries have continued to operate in the United States as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes and as corporate entities in non-U.S. jurisdictions. Accordingly, these entities, in some cases, continue to be subject to New York City unincorporated business taxes, or non-U.S. income taxes. However, we hold our interest in one of the KKR Group Partnerships through KKR Management Holdings Corp., which is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and certain other wholly owned subsidiaries of the KKR Group Partnerships are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, such wholly owned subsidiaries of KKR, including KKR Management Holdings Corp., and the KKR Group Partnerships, are subject to federal, state and local corporate income taxes at the entity level and the related tax provision attributable to KKR's share of this income is reflected in the financial statements.

        Subsequent to the Transactions, we use the liability method to account for income taxes in accordance with GAAP. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis using currently enacted tax rates. The effect on deferred assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period when the change is enacted. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

        Tax laws are complex and subject to different interpretations by the taxpayer and respective governmental taxing authorities. Significant judgment is required in determining tax expense and in evaluating tax positions including evaluating uncertainties. We review our tax positions quarterly and adjust our tax balances as new information becomes available.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests

        Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests represents the ownership interests that third parties hold in entities that are consolidated in the financial statements. The allocable share of income and expense attributable to those interests is accounted for as net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests. Historically, the amount of net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests has been substantial and has resulted in significant charges and credits in the statements of operations. For periods prior to the Transactions, noncontrolling interests consisted primarily of:

•

noncontrolling interests that third party investors held in consolidated funds;



•

noncontrolling interests attributable to the ownership of KPE's investment partnership by KPE's unitholders;



•

a noncontrolling interest that allocated to a third party an aggregate of approximately 2% of the equity in our capital markets business; and



•

noncontrolling interests that allocated 35% of the net income (loss) generated by the manager of our Public Markets segment to certain of its principals on an annual basis through May 30, 2008.

        On May 30, 2008, we acquired all outstanding noncontrolling interests of KKR Asset Management LLC, the manager of our Public Markets segment, and now own 100% of this business. In connection with the Transactions, we acquired all outstanding noncontrolling interests in KPE's investment partnership, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of KKR.

        For periods subsequent to the completion of the Transactions, noncontrolling interests include:

•

noncontrolling interests that third party investors hold in consolidated funds;



•

a noncontrolling interest that allocates to a third party approximately of approximately 2% of the equity in our capital markets business;

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•

noncontrolling interests that allocate to a former principal and such person's designees an aggregate of 1% of the carried interest received by general partners of our funds and 1% of our other profits until a future date;



•

noncontrolling interests that allocate to certain of our former principals and their designees a portion of the carried interest received by the general partners of the private equity funds with respect to private equity investments made during such former principals' tenure with us;



•

noncontrolling interests that allocate to certain of our current and former principals all of the capital invested by or on behalf of the general partners of the private equity funds before the completion of the Transactions and any returns thereon; and



•

noncontrolling interests representing the KKR Group Partnership Units that KKR Holdings holds in the KKR Group Partnerships, which interests were allocated on October 1, 2010 to KKR Holdings representing 70% of the equity in the KKR Group Partnerships at that time.

Assets Under Management ("AUM")

        AUM represents the assets from which KKR is entitled to receive fees or carried interest and general partner capital. The AUM reported prior to the date of consummation of the Transactions reflected the NAV of KPE and its commitments to our investment funds. Subsequent to the Transactions, the NAV of KPE and its commitments to our investment funds are excluded from our calculation of AUM. KKR calculates the amount of AUM as of any date as the sum of: (i) the fair value of the investments of KKR's investment funds plus uncalled capital commitments from these funds; (ii) the fair value of investments in KKR's co-investment vehicles; (iii) the net asset value of certain of KKR's fixed income products; and (iv) the value of outstanding structured finance vehicles. You should note that KKR's calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other investment managers and, as a result, its measurements of AUM may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other investment managers. KKR's definition of AUM is not based on any definition of AUM that is set forth in the agreements governing the investment funds, vehicles or accounts that it manages.

Fee Paying Assets Under Management ("FPAUM")

        FPAUM represents only those assets under management from which KKR receives fees. FPAUM reported prior to the Transactions reflected the NAV of KPE. Subsequent to the Transactions, the NAV of KPE is excluded from our calculation of FPAUM, because these assets are now owned by us and are no longer managed on behalf of a third-party investor. FPAUM is the sum of all of the individual fee bases that are used to calculate KKR's fees and differs from AUM in the following respects: (i) assets from which KKR does not receive a fee are excluded (i.e., assets with respect to which it receives only carried interest); and (ii) certain assets, primarily in its private equity funds, are reflected based on capital commitments and invested capital as opposed to fair value because fees are not impacted by changes in the fair value of underlying investments. You should note that KKR's calculation of FPAUM may differ from the calculations of other investment managers and, as a result, its measurements of FPAUM may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other investment managers. KKR's definition of FPAUM is not based on any definition of FPAUM that is set forth in the agreements governing the investment funds, vehicles or accounts that it manages.

Segment Results

        We present the results of our reportable business segments in accordance with FASB Accounting Standards Codification Section 280, Segment Reporting. This guidance is based on a management approach, which requires segment presentation based on internal organization and the internal financial reporting used by management to make operating decisions, assess performance and allocate resources. All inter segment transactions are eliminated in the segment presentation.

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        Our management makes operating decisions, assesses performance and allocates resources based on financial and operating data and measures that are presented without giving effect to the consolidation of any of the funds that we manage. In addition, there are other components of our reportable segment results that differ from the equivalent GAAP results on a consolidated basis. These differences are described below. We believe such adjustments are meaningful because management makes operating decisions and assesses the performance of our business based on financial and operating metrics and data that are presented without the consolidation of any funds.

Segment Operating and Performance Measures

Fee Related Earnings

        Fee related earnings ("FRE") is comprised of segment operating revenues, less segment operating expenses. The components of FRE on a segment basis differ from the equivalent GAAP amounts on a combined basis as a result of: (i) the inclusion of management fees earned from consolidated funds that were eliminated in consolidation; (ii) the exclusion of expenses of consolidated funds; (iii) the exclusion of charges relating to the amortization of intangible assets; (iv) the exclusion of charges relating to carry pool allocations; (v) the exclusion of non-cash equity charges and other non-cash compensation charges borne by KKR Holdings; (vi) the exclusion of certain reimbursable expenses and (vii) the exclusion of certain non-recurring items.

Investment Income (Loss)

        Investment income is composed of net carried interest and other investment income (loss). Carried interests entitle the general partner of our private equity funds to a greater allocable share of the fund's earnings from investments relative to the capital contributed by the general partner and correspondingly reduces third party investors' share of those earnings. Carried interests are earned on realized and unrealized gains (losses) on fund investments as well as dividends received by our funds. Amounts earned pursuant to carried interests are included in investment income to the extent that cumulative investment returns in a given fund are positive. If these investment returns decrease or turn negative in subsequent periods, recognized carried interests will be reduced and reflected as investment losses. Gross carried interest is reduced for carry pool allocations and refunds of management fees payable upon the recognition of carried interest.

        Allocations to our carry pool represent approximately 40% of carried interest earned in funds and vehicles eligible to receive carry distributions to be allocated to our principals plus any allocation of carried interest to our other personnel as part of our profit sharing plan. No carry pool allocations are recorded in funds and vehicles that are in either a clawback position or a net loss sharing position and therefore carry pool allocations may not always equal 40% of gross carried interest. Prior to October 1, 2009, allocations to our carry pool consisted only of allocations to our employee profit sharing program.

        Certain of our investment funds require that we refund up to 20% of any cash management fees earned from limited partners in the event that the funds recognize a carried interest. At such time as the fund recognizes a carried interest in an amount sufficient to cover 20% of the management fees earned or a portion thereof, carried interest is reduced, not to exceed 20% of management fees earned.

        Other investment income (loss) is comprised of realized and unrealized gains (losses) and dividends on capital invested by the general partners of our funds and by us, as well as interest income and interest expense.

Economic Net Income

        Economic net income ("ENI") is a measure of profitability for KKR's reportable segments and is comprised of: (i) FRE; plus (ii) segment investment income, which is reduced for carry pool allocations and management fee refunds; less (iii) certain economic interests in KKR's segments held by third parties. ENI differs from net income on a U.S. GAAP basis as a result of: (i) the exclusion of the items

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referred to in FRE above; (ii) the exclusion of investment income relating to noncontrolling interests; and (iii) the exclusion of income taxes.

Committed Dollars Invested

        Committed dollars invested is the aggregate amount of capital commitments that have been invested by our investment funds and carry-yielding co-investment vehicles during a given period. Such amounts include: (i) capital invested by fund investors and co-investors with respect to which we are entitled to a carried interest and (ii) capital invested by us.

Uncalled Commitments

        Uncalled commitments represents unfunded capital commitments that KKR's investment funds and carry paying co-investment vehicles have received from partners to contribute capital to fund future investments.

Consolidated and Combined Results of Operations

        The following is a discussion of our consolidated and combined results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008. You should read this discussion in conjunction with the consolidated and combined financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this filing. For a more detailed discussion of the factors that affected the results of operations of our three business segments in these periods, see "—Segment Analysis."

        The following tables set forth information regarding our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008.

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