Posted at 3:03 p.m., Friday, May 11, 2007
Carlyle Group could raise up to $1B in IPO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Private-equity firm the Carlyle Group LP will for the first time sell shares to the public in one of its investment funds, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday.After a planned initial public offering of stock in June or July, the Carlyle Capital Corp. Ltd. fund, could have up to $1 billion to invest, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The fund, which will focus on mortgage-backed securities, has already raised private capital.
Carlyle, which owns Hawaiian Telcom, plans to list the fund on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.
The Washington-based firm is following several other private-equity groups in entering the public markets.
Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts Co. offered shares in a real estate fund it manages in 2005, while Blackstone Group LP said in March that it would seek to raise $4 billion in an IPO of the private equity firm itself. Fortress Investment Group LLC was the first private equity firm to go public when it raised $643.3 million in an IPO.
Typically, private-equity funds return to investors the capital they put in, plus profits, after a preset period of time. However, by selling shares in the funds, these firms are able to manage the capital indefinitely.
The Carlyle Group currently manages $56 billion in 48 different funds, according to its Web site, investing in everything from aerospace and defense to energy and infrastructure.
