KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR) today reported its second quarter 2012 results.

For the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012, the carrying value of KKR’s private equity investment portfolio appreciated 5.1% and 14.5%, respectively, driving meaningful ENI. ENI was $546.1 million and $1,273.3 million for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, up from $315.0 million and $1,057.5 million in the comparable periods of 2011. The increase in both comparable periods was primarily due to greater investment income earned from our principal investments as well as a higher level of net carried interest earned from our private equity funds.

AUM and fee paying assets under management (“FPAUM”) were $61.5 billion and $47.2 billion, respectively as of June 30, 2012, both down slightly from March 31, 2012. The decreases in both AUM and FPAUM were primarily attributable to distributions to limited partners of our investment funds, largely offset by investment appreciation during the period and new capital raised. Neither of these measures includes capital-raising for our eleventh North American private equity fund nor our second Asian private equity fund.

Our infrastructure fund had a final close during the second quarter on over $1 billion, which, in addition to the $1.3 billion of already committed infrastructure-related separate accounts, brings total infrastructure committed capital to $2.4 billion. Our natural resources fund also had a close during the quarter, bringing total commitments to $1.25 billion, which, in addition to $350 million of capital outside the fund, brings total committed capital for natural resources to $1.6 billion.

During the second quarter of 2012, we announced an agreement to acquire Prisma Capital Partners LP and its affiliates (“Prisma”), a leading provider of customized hedge fund solutions. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2012. As of April 1, 2012, Prisma had $7.8 billion of assets under management.

“In the second quarter, we completed or announced transactions which are expected to return over $4 billion of capital to our private equity investors, continued to grow our Asian private equity and Energy and Infrastructure platforms, and announced the Prisma acquisition,” said Henry R. Kravis and George R. Roberts, Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR. “Against a challenging economic and capital markets backdrop, we are pleased with our results.”

Note: Certain financial measures, including FRE, ENI, after-tax ENI, after-tax ENI per adjusted unit, fee related EBITDA, book value, cash and short-term investments and adjusted units, are not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). See Exhibits A and B for a reconciliation of such measures to financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. See calculation and reconciliation of total distributable earnings under “Distribution Calculation.”

GAAP RESULTS

GAAP results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012 included net income attributable to KKR & Co. L.P. of $146.3 million and $336.7 million, respectively, and net income attributable to KKR & Co. L.P. per common unit of $0.58 and $1.37, respectively, on a diluted basis. For the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2011, net income attributable to KKR & Co. L.P. was $39.6 million and $199.2 million, respectively, and net income attributable to KKR & Co. L.P. per common unit was $0.18 and $0.92, respectively, on a diluted basis. The increases in both comparable periods was primarily due to a higher level of investment appreciation recorded in net gains (losses) from investment activities in the condensed consolidated statements of operations. This increase in net gains (losses) from investment activities was partially offset by (i) a decrease in fees primarily due to lower monitoring and transaction fees and (ii) an increase in compensation and benefits expense. The increase in compensation and benefits expense was primarily attributable to a higher carry pool allocation as a result of the recognition of higher carried interest during the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012 compared to the comparable periods in 2011.

SEGMENT RESULTS

Private Markets

AUM was $45.5 billion as of June 30, 2012, a decrease of $0.5 billion, or 1.1%, compared to AUM of $46.0 billion as of March 31, 2012. The decrease was primarily attributable to distributions to the limited partners of our private equity funds arising from realizations, partially offset by appreciation in the fair value of our private equity portfolio and to a lesser extent new capital raised.

FPAUM was $37.9 billion as of June 30, 2012, down slightly from $38.0 billion as of March 31, 2012. Unfavorable changes in foreign exchange related to euro-denominated commitments and invested capital and distributions to the limited partners of our private equity funds arising from realizations were offset by new capital raised during the period.

FRE was $36.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $1.6 million, or 4.2%, compared to FRE of $37.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower monitoring fees as a result of a $7.8 million termination payment on a monitoring agreement with a portfolio company during the second quarter of 2011, which impacted FRE by $1.9 million net of associated fee credits.

FRE was $74.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $54.4 million, or 42.4%, compared to FRE of $128.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The decrease was primarily driven by (i) lower monitoring fees as a result of $76.6 million of termination payments on monitoring agreements with three portfolio companies during the six months ended June 30, 2011, which impacted FRE by $39.7 million net of associated fee credits and (ii) lower transaction fees during the six months ended June 30, 2012 as a result of closing relatively smaller transaction fee-generating investments, which in turn produced lower transaction fees.

ENI was $174.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $46.5 million, or 36.3%, compared to ENI of $128.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to higher net carried interest driven by a higher level of appreciation in our private equity portfolio.

ENI was $440.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $35.2 million, or 8.7%, compared to ENI of $404.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The increase was primarily driven by higher net carried interest resulting from a higher level of appreciation in our private equity portfolio, partially offset by the decrease in FRE discussed above.

Public Markets

AUM was $16.0 billion as of June 30, 2012, a decrease of $0.3 billion, or 1.8%, compared to AUM of $16.3 billion as of March 31, 2012. The decrease was primarily attributable to distributions to credit strategy investors partially offset by new capital raised. FPAUM was $9.3 billion as of June 30, 2012, unchanged from March 31, 2012, as new capital raised during the quarter was offset by distributions to credit strategy investors.

FRE was $12.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $8.5 million, or 40.9%, compared to FRE of $20.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. FRE was $27.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $7.6 million, or 21.5%, compared to FRE of $35.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The decrease in both comparable periods was primarily due to lower incentive fees earned, partially offset by higher management fees related to new capital raised over the past year.

ENI was $6.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $14.6 million, or 68.2%, compared to ENI of $21.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in FRE discussed above and to a lesser extent the reversal of previously recognized carried interest. ENI was $30.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, a decrease of $6.5 million, or 17.5%, compared to ENI of $37.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The decrease was primarily driven by the decline in FRE discussed above.

Capital Markets and Principal Activities

FRE was $21.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $3.7 million, or 21.1%, compared to FRE of $17.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. FRE was $41.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $2.9 million, or 7.5%, compared to FRE of $38.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The increase in both comparative periods was primarily driven by a higher level of overall capital markets transaction activity, partially offset by higher compensation expense, both of which reflect the growth and continued expansion of this business.

ENI was $364.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $199.0 million, or 120.2%, compared to ENI of $165.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. ENI was $802.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $187.2 million, or 30.4%, compared to ENI of $615.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011. The increase in both comparative periods was primarily due to a higher level of investment income from our principal investments.

CAPITAL AND LIQUIDITY

As of June 30, 2012, KKR had $1,206.4 million of cash and short-term investments on a segment basis and $500.0 million of outstanding debt obligations under its senior notes. KKR’s availability for further borrowings was approximately $750.0 million (which does not include a $500.0 million revolving credit facility for use in its capital markets business that was undrawn as of June 30, 2012).

As of June 30, 2012, KKR’s portion of total uncalled commitments to its investment funds was $594.5 million, consisting of the following (amounts in thousands):

DISTRIBUTION

A distribution of $0.13 per common unit will be paid on August 21, 2012 to unitholders of record as of the close of business on August 6, 2012.

CONFERENCE CALL

A conference call to discuss KKR’s financial results will be held on Friday, July 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The conference call may be accessed by dialing (877) 795-3638 (U.S. callers) or +1 (719) 325-4898 (non-U.S. callers); a pass code is not required. Additionally, the conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and may be accessed through the Public Investors section of KKR’s website at http://ir.kkr.com/kkr_ir/kkr_events.cfm. A replay of the live broadcast will be available on KKR’s website or by dialing (888) 203-1112 (U.S. callers) and +1 (719) 457-0820 (non-U.S. callers), pass code 2450069, beginning approximately two hours after the broadcast.

From time to time, KKR may use its website as a channel of distribution of material company information. Financial and other important information regarding KKR is routinely posted and accessible on the Public Investors section of KKR’s website at http://ir.kkr.com/kkr_ir/alerts.cfm. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about KKR by enrolling your email address at the “Email Alerts” area of the Public Investors section of the website.

ABOUT KKR

Founded in 1976 and led by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR is a leading global investment firm with $61.5 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2012. With offices around the world, KKR manages assets through a variety of investment funds and accounts covering multiple asset classes. KKR seeks to create value by bringing operational expertise to its portfolio companies and through active oversight and monitoring of its investments. KKR complements its investment expertise and strengthens interactions with investors through its client relationships and capital markets platform. KKR is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KKR). For additional information, please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements are based on KKR’s beliefs, assumptions and expectations of its future performance, taking into account all information currently available to it. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to KKR or are within its control. If a change occurs, KKR’s business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, including but not limited to AUM, FPAUM, FRE, total distributable earnings, ENI, after-tax ENI, fee related EBITDA, committed and syndicated dollars invested, uncalled commitments, core interest expense, cash and short-term investments and book value, may vary materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to vary from the forward-looking statements: the general volatility of the capital markets; failure to realize the benefits of or changes in KKR’s business strategies including the ability to consummate the acquisition of Prisma as contemplated, if at all, or to realize the anticipated synergies from the transaction; availability, terms and deployment of capital; availability of qualified personnel and expense of recruiting and retaining such personnel; changes in the asset management industry, interest rates or the general economy; underperformance of KKR's investments and decreased ability to raise funds; and the degree and nature of KKR’s competition. KKR does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date on which such statements were made except as required by law. In addition, KKR’s business strategy is focused on the long term and financial results are subject to significant volatility. Additional information about factors affecting KKR is available in KKR & Co. L.P.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC on February 27, 2012, and other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.