Being the most aggressive and active may sound like a great thing, but for private equity firms, that might not be the case.

Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts Co. is currently the most active private equity firm. Since only January of this year, KKR has already closed over $122 billion dollars of deals. Blackstone, one of the most well known names in the industry (actually, it's now pretty much a household name), has, by comparison, closed $15 billion worth of deals since the start of 2007.

Some industry analysts see the spending disparity between KKR and its rivals as a sign that perhaps KKR is spending too much too fast. However, KKR denies that, saying that these deals have not been sudden or ill-planned. "Most of our deals are large and complex, the result of proprietary ideas that have been worked on for years and years," said Marc Lipschulz, a senior executive at the firm.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has become by far the most active firm in the booming private equity industry in 2007, sealing $122.5bn worth of deals since January, more than it secured in the previous two years combined.

Including the record $45bn buy-out of TXU, the Texas-based energy group, and the $20bn takeover of Alliance Boots, the UK drug store chain, KKR has grabbed a 44.1 per cent share of all global private equity deal volumes in 2007, according to Dealogic. This compares with its near-20 per cent average share of global buy-out volumes since the beginning of 2004.

(Continue reading this story on Financial Times)

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