Equity firm bids on operator of Sedgebrook, Monarch Landing

NEW YORK -- Private equity firm KKR & Co. Tuesday said it plans to bid for Erickson Retirement Communities LLC in a bankruptcy auction Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Erickson operates Sedgebrook in Lincolnshire and Monarch Landing in Naperville.

KKR will make the offer with Coastwood Senior Housing Partners and private-equity investor Beecken Petty O'Keefe & Co., said the person, who asked not to be identified because the auction is private. KKR is competing with Redwood Capital Investors LLC, which planned to submit an opening bid of $100 million.

Erickson, which operates retirement communities in 11 states, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in October, listing assets of $2.7 billion and $3 billion of liabilities. Under its initial offer for the Catonville, Maryland-based company, Redwood would pay $75 million in cash and a $25 million note, while assuming $500 million in debt and committing $50 million in capital for the business, according to filings.

Officials at KKR, San Francisco-based Coastwood and Beecken Petty O'Keefe in Chicago declined to comment. A message left at Redwood founder Jim Davis's office in Hanover, Maryland, wasn't returned.