Nov 2 (Reuters) - KKR & Co Inc said on Tuesday its third quarter distributable earnings more than doubled to $925.1 million, driven by strong growth in management fees and profit from asset sales in its private equity business. KKR and other private equity firms have benefited from a flurry of mergers and acquisitions as the global economy recovers from the pandemic. Its peers Blackstone Inc and Carlyle Group Inc reported record earnings last month due to strong asset sales. KKR said its after-tax distributable earnings per share doubled to $1.05, exceeding the average Wall Street analyst forecast of 93 cents, according to Refinitiv. During the quarter, KKR said it generated $448 million as income from asset sales such as the divestment of its stake in supplement maker The Bountiful Company to the Swiss food giant Nestle SA in a $5.75 billion deal. KKR said it invested $24 billion to buy new assets, including a majority stake Indian cosmetics firm Vini Cosmetics for $625 million and the acquisition of several apartment buildings such as The District at Scottsdale in Arizona. Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), KKR said its net income rose 7% to $1.1 billion, largely due to revenue from its insurance subsidiary, Global Atlantic. KKR’s private equity and opportunistic real estate fund portfolios rose 9% and 14%, respectively. Its leveraged credit funds rose 1%. Private equity funds managed by KKR rivals Blackstone and Carlyle appreciated by 9.9% and 4%, respectively. KKR said its total assets under management reached $459 billion, versus $429 billion in the prior quarter, on strong fundraising. Its unspent capital remained flat at $111 billion. (Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Himani Sarkar)