(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com Feb. 27.)

What Does Private Money Bring To The Table?

What makes private equity investors want to invest in a solution provider business?

In an interview with CRN, Herald Chen (pictured), co-head of the technology, media and telecommunications team at KKR & Co., laid out why he thinks the opportunity is greater than ever for an investment in a company like Optiv Security, which KKR announced in December that it would acquire in a blockbuster deal reportedly worth $2 billion.

The deal by KKR – the second-largest private equity firm in the world according to the 2016 Private Equity International 300 – was a sign of a major buy-in by private equity into the channel, the latest in a growing tide of deals in recent years. In the interview, Chen also addresses what value private equity in turn can bring to the partner market.

Click through to read the interview.

(For more on private equity and the channel, read CRN's February cover story 'Private Equity Power Play.')