KKR (NYSE:KKR) is a private equity firm, and that means that it can have its fingers in a lot of different pies. Not so long ago, it tried to invest in online Japanese manga, a form of comic book, and now, it’s branching out into live music. That branch didn’t meet with investor approval, though, as shareholders sold off and left KKR shares down nearly 3.5% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
While the terms of the acquisition weren’t made public, reports note that the move to buy Superstruct Entertainment will give KKR effective control over more than 80 different music festivals on two different continents: Europe and Australia. The move comes at a time when live entertainment is doing surprisingly well, and reports suggest that the field is likely to expand in the months ahead.
The move away from goods and towards experiences has been in the making for some time now, particularly as millennial shoppers—who are basically in prime earning territory—are focusing on this area.
Difficult to Find an Investment Theme
We know that KKR tried to buy online Japanese comics just recently and that it bought a substantial stake in music festivals. But KKR was also a top bidder to land Discover’s (NYSE:DFS) student loan business. In addition, It—along with Singapore Telecommunications—is set to drop around $1.3 billion into one of the biggest data center providers in Asia. KKR’s roadmap here looks like a four-year-old’s crayon-driven attempt to solve a restaurant placemat maze. Trying to find a unifying element to serve as a theme or an investment thesis here is next to impossible.
Is KKR a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on KKR stock based on 10 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 96.14% rally in its share price over the past year, the average KKR price target of $120 per share implies 12.38% upside potential.
