Walter eventually sold the company in 1986 for $2 billion to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, when mortgage rates went as high as 15%, Jim Walter offered 10% financing with no money down.
Later, Walter acquired Fry Roofing, Georgia Marble, and various other building material companies.
Most notably, a subsidiary of Jim Walter Corp (Celotex) faced a large asbestos lawsuit and incurred liabilities that the courts ruled would need to be satisfied by the parent company.
[2] In 1989, the holding company that KKR used for the Jim Walter buyout filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.