U.S. private equity giant KKR & Co LP moved to bolster its presence in Australia’s lucrative mortgage market on Wednesday, joining a rush of players hungry for a slice of a property boom even as the sector shows early signs of slowing.

KKR Credit Advisors LLC made a $500 million bid for non-bank lender Pepper Group Ltd at an indicative price of A$3.60 per share, a 4 percent discount to Tuesday’s close. Pepper shares sank 7.2 percent to A$3.48 on Wednesday.

Australia’s A$1.7 trillion ($1.30 trillion) mortgage market is highly profitable with very low delinquencies and lucrative commissions.

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