Kinder Morgan raises $2.86B in

NEW YORK (AP) - Pipeline holding company Kinder Morgan Inc. has raised $2.86 billion in an initial public offering, more than it expected.

It's the largest U.S. IPO ever brought to market by private-equity investors, according to data provider Dealogic, and follows the successful IPO of ratings company Nielsen Holdings NV last month, another large private-equity deal. Analysts expect the two deals to prompt private-equity firms to bring more companies to market this year.

The Houston pipeline operator's stockholders - Goldman Sachs, Highstar Capital LP, The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, who took the company private in 2007 - have sold 95.5 million shares for $30 each. Kinder Morgan had said it expected to sell 80 million shares for $26 to $29 apiece.

The company received none of the funds.