Horizon is the second-largest ocean shipping company operating in Hawai'i, behind Matson Navigation Co.

Carlyle bought Horizon Lines of Charlotte, N.C., from CSX Corp., the No. 3 U.S. railroad, for $300 million in cash and stock in February 2003.

Castle Harlan said in an e-mailed statement that that Horizon Lines had "solid growth prospects" because of limited competition to ship goods between the Mainland and points such as Alaska, Hawai'i and Puerto Rico.

Horizon Lines reported sales of $830 million last year, a 9.6 percent increase from the previous year.

The company did not disclose net income. CSX, which kept 20 percent of Horizon Lines’ stock, sold the unit to concentrate on its rail business.

The U.S. shipping company has 16 ships and nearly 22,000 cargo containers.

Carlyle, the sixth-largest private equity company with $18 billion under management, is based in Washington, D.C. On Friday, Carlyle and a group of local investors announced they will pay $1.65 billion for Verizon Hawai'i, the state’s land-line phone company.

Carlyle said its plan is to expand Verizon Hawai'i by increasing local management and boost employment by bringing services that now are provided from the Mainland to Hawai'i.

Horizon Lines entered the Hawai'i trade in 1987 as Sea-Land Service Inc., and operates a terminal at Sand Island.