The US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) may scrap its plans to list in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), with the company considering the option to buy its Amsterdam-listed fund - thereby separating it from the somewhat pressurizing plan of having to list at a difficult time to go public.

In a July 2008 announced move, KKR had planned to combine its operations with its Euronext-listed KKR Private Equity Investors (KPE), and list its entire operation on the NYSE. Later, in March, the companies said the deal was being re-evaluated, and the deadline for buying the fund was extended to August 31.

However, now KKR is negotiating another arrangement with a shareholder, which would help the company go in for the proposed merger without a NYSE listing. Going by the information provided by the people in-the-know, the arrangement under consideration would involve changed terms for the merger deal, whereby KPE shareholders would receive stakes in the combined entity.

The merging of the KKR operations with its Amsterdam-listed unit KPE would help the private equity bigwig evade NYSE's protracted registration process and governance conditions.

In its emailed statement on Thursday, KKR said: "We and the KPE Board continue to evaluate the advisability of the transaction. Any official announcement related to the transaction will be made via press release."