KKR & Co. L.P. (formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.) is an American multinational private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts, headquartered in New York. The firm sponsors and manages private equity investment funds. A pioneer in the leveraged buyout industry, the firm has completed over $400 billion of private equity transactions since its inception.The firm was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Jr., and cousins Henry Kravis and George R.