Briefly

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., the world’s biggest buyout firm, plans to raise $1.5 billion in an initial public offering of a private equity fund, said people with knowledge of the sale.

The IPO would mark the first time in Kohlberg Kravis’ 30-year history that founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts would give smaller, individual investors a way to participate in its takeovers.

Kohlberg Kravis’ typical clients are pension funds such as Washington’s State Investment Board, which oversees $65 billion.

Kohlberg Kravis’ rivals Apollo Management and Ripplewood Holdings sold shares in publicly traded funds during the last two years.

The buyout industry gathered a record $134 billion last year, more than twice 2004’s amount, according to London-based Private Equity Intelligence Ltd.