KKR’s First Data Files to Go Public

Thomson ReutersHenry Kravis, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., smiles during a media briefing in Hong KongPrivate equity firm KKR’s big bet on tech is finally going to pay off.

First Data Corp. on Monday filed an S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of shares of its Class A common stock.

First Data was bought by KKR in 2007 in what was at the time one of the biggest leveraged buyouts on Wall Street. The Atlanta-based company struggled under its debt load for several years under a succession of chief executive officers.

“Today, First Data offers investors the opportunity to join what I believe will be one of the most significant transformations in our industry”, CEO Frank Bisignano wrote in the SEC filing. The company hasn’t turned an annual profit since its buyout in 2007.

Ongoing problems at First Data have been an albatross for KKR, which pumped $1.2 billion into the company a year ago.

No details have been announced in the filing other than that the filing will be for up to $100 million. Also missing was whether First Data would list on the New York Stock Exchange or on the NASDAQ, and its proposed ticker was not disclosed either.

The company’s filing showed that it will have two classes of common stock via the Class A common shares and Class B shares.

First Data has three major business lines, including point-of-sale services, which its in largest unit, as well as credit card and lending solutions. In 2014, it processed more than 2,300 transactions per second, according to the filing.