KKR strengthens European presence

The group has appointed to senior German executives to its operations, hopeful they will improve its access to the region's notoriously elusive deal flow. ‘We are very pleased with our progress in the European markets and continue to build the depth of our team,' Edward Gilhuly, managing director of KKR, said.

Reinhard Gorenflos will join KKR as a director in the London office. He has a background in consulting and as a managing director at Thyssen with responsibility for its industrial services division. Most recently, he has been chief financial officer of Central European gas station business ARAL.

The second appointee is Dr. Axel Eckhardt, who is joining to head Capstone Europe, the consultancy that provides advice to KKR on potential and existing investments. He has a long pedigree in management consultancy at both McKinsey and Droege and Co.

‘We are delighted to announce the appointments of Axel and Reinhardt as they are highly qualified and well-respected businessmen and will add to our European effort generally and our German effort in particular,' Gilhuly said.

Overseas private equity investors have long been eying up the potential opportunities in the German market but have found it infuriatingly difficult to penetrate. The deal flow has persistently disappointed, which has meant competition at the larger end of the buy-out market is furious.

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