Fidelity to sell shares of KKR IPOs

Mutual-fund giant Fidelity Investments and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. have agreed to sell initial public offerings and other stock offerings from the private-equity firm’s companies to Fidelity retail customers.

The move comes as activity within the capital markets has picked up, after the IPO market had slowed over the past couple of years.

Under the terms of the deal, Boston-based Fidelity will get the right to sell retail securities to its customers. Traditionally, retail customers don’t have the same access to IPO shares as customers of investment banks.

New York-based KKR has investments in 50 companies with a combined $200 billion of revenue.

The IPO market has slowed down in the last couple of years, the firm acknowledged in the announcement.

“In the last few months we have started to see a few IPOs and it’s starting to look like there’s some life in that market,” said Mark Haggerty, president of Fidelity Capital Markets.

Fidelity’s clients are always looking for access to products in the IPO market, he said.

In the past Fidelity has offered access to IPOs through investment banks.

“We have relationships with various investment banks over the years,” Mr. Haggerty said. “This deal does not preclude us from pursuing a deal with another investment bank going forward.”

Additional reporting from The Associated Press.