Carlyle reaches $1.5b on fourth Asia buyout fund
The Carlyle Group has so far raised $1.5 billion for its fourth Asia buyout fund, which is expected to reach a final close of $3.5 billion by the end of this year. William E. Conway, the private equity firm’s co-founder and co-CEO, said in the first quarter earnings call that the target was in sight and the fund would start to generate fees – and therefore make investments – from June.
AVCJ reported in early April that Carlyle Asia Partners IV, which launched in May 2012, had passed the $1 billion mark after reaching a first close of $700 million last December.
If the $3.5 billion target is reached within the desired timeframe then the fundraising process would be quicker than that of its predecessor, which closed at $2.55 billion in April 2010 after about two years in the market. However, Carlyle's progress - and that of TPG Capital with its sixth regional vehicle - appears to be slower than that of KKR, which is closing in on $6 billion for its second Asia fund.
Carlyle raised $4.1 billion during the first quarter of the year, taking total assets under management to $176.3 billion, according to its earnings report.
In addition to the Asia buyout fund, the firm is marketing its latest US buyout and financial services funds, as well as several other smaller vehicles. The US fund has a target of $10 billion and David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO, said current commitments stand at $6-7 billion. The hard cap is $12 billion, plus a GP contribution of $1 billion.
A third dedicated Japan fund, with a target of around $2 billion, has reportedly been launched. Carlyle has yet to comment on the matter.
Realizations for the quarter came to $4.1 billion, supported by a final exit from China Pacific Insurance and exits from Japanese portfolio companies Qualicaps and Broadleaf, via a trade sale and an IPO, respectively.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Carlyle and FountainVest Partners will be the two largest shareholders after the chairman once Chinese out-of-home advertising company Focus Media is taken private. The deal won shareholder approval last week.
Jason Jiang, the chairman, will own 30.9% of the company, with Carlyle and FountainVest on 19.7% each. CITIC Capital and China Everbright, the other members of the PE consortium, will hold 9.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Existing shareholder Fosun International is rolling its 17.4% stake into the acquisition vehicle.
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