The world’s biggest buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is expected to bid for a $2.43 billion stake in Samsung Life Insurance Co., the largest insurer for South Korea, according to some analysts.

KKR, founded in 1976 by cousins Henry Kravis, 61, George Roberts, 61, and Jerome Kohlberg, 79, has no investments in Asia so far. The company submitted a letter of intent on April 29.

Samsung has a third in a $200 billion life insurance industry of South Korea and holds the biggest stake in affiliate Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-largest chipmaker.

``KKR declines comment on deal speculation,’’ Ruth Pachman, a spokeswoman for the company.
KKR has raised about $25 billion in funds and completed more than 115 transactions since it was founded over thirty years ago. In 1898, it bought RJR Nabisco Inc. for $31 billion, marking the world’s largest takeover by a buyout firm.

Earlier, Permira Advisers Ltd., the manager of Europe’s biggest buyout fund, also signaled intention to expand in Asia with its first investment.