KKR has made an offer to buy bonds in Spanish group NH Hoteles with a view to possibly converting them to shares in the future. 

The hotel group, whose majority shareholder is nationalised lender Bankia, is struggling to service its debts and its main markets in Spain and Italy are suffering. So far an agreement between KKR and NH Hoteles has not been reached. 

An impending bailout of Spanish banks is expected to lead to the sale of a number of stakes in companies across the country. Yesterday Henry Kravis, a co-founder of KKR, said the firm was looking to pick up bargains in Spain: “They are selling things at cents on the dollar and we’re looking at some of those opportunities.

“We’re not in any way writing off Europe. In fact, we’re putting money into Europe,” he added.