Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the US private equity group raising a $10bn (€8.3bn) fund, last night received a pledge of $1.5bn from the Washington State Investment Board, half the amount it had asked for.

KKR founder George Roberts had asked the Washington board for $3bn. Bloomberg reported that board members had considered approving $2.25bn, but settled on the $1.5bn figure following advice from consultants Capital Dynamics.