Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on Monday delayed its New York initial public offering, originally planned for this year, as the US private equity group blamed financial market turmoil for another big investment loss at its Amsterdam-listed fund.

Warning of massive uncertainty, lack of transparency and a drying up of liquidity in the financial system, KKR said it could not be sure how badly the latest falls in the global economy and financial markets would affect its business.

KKRâ??s Amsterdam-listed fund said on Monday it had written off almost $1bn of value in nine months. Its net asset value has fallen from $4.98bn, or $24.36 a share, at the end of last year to $3.86bn, or $18.85 a share, by the end of September.

In the three months to September, it suffered another $649m of writedowns on the value of its portfolio. It cut the value of its investment in Energy Future Holdings, the Texas power group formerly known as TXU, by 29 per cent, or $132.8m.