Feb 4 (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager KKR & Co ( KKR )

reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street

expectations on Tuesday, as a rebound in dealmaking activity

boosted its income from asset sales.

The Federal Reserve's recent interest rate cuts and Donald

Trump's return to the White House have powered a resurgence in

deals.

KKR's fee-related earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31

jumped 25% to $843 million from a year earlier.

The company's adjusted net income climbed 33% to $1.19

billion, or $1.32 per share, above analysts' expectations of

$1.28, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

Last week, larger rival Blackstone also beat

quarterly profit expectations, driven by a pickup in dealmaking.

KKR's assets under management jumped 15% to $638 billion in

the reported quarter, with the company hauling $27 billion of

new capital and deploying $23 billion in investments.

In April, KKR said it expects to surpass $1 trillion in

assets in the next five years. The firm invests across assets

including private equity, credit, real estate and insurance.

Its infrastructure funds gained 2%, opportunistic real

estate funds rose 1%, while the private equity portfolio was

flat in the fourth quarter.

The New York-based firm on Tuesday also said it was

increasing ownership across three existing investments - USI

Insurance Services, 1-800 Contacts, and Heartland Dental - by

about $1.1 billion.

In the last few months, KKR has announced a series of deals

including the acquisition of a 25% stake in Italian energy group

Eni's biofuel business Enilive for 2.94 billion euro.

In October, KKR struck a deal to acquire airport parking

provider The Parking Spot from private equity real estate

investment firm Green Courte Partners.

The company also trimmed its stake in financial software

maker OneStream ( OS ) in November through a secondary offering.