Carlyle completes China Pacific exit, takes total sales value past $5b

Carlyle sold 203.7 million shares - 7.3% of China Pacific's H-share capital and 2.2% of its total share capital - at HK$30.30 apiece, the top end of the indicative range. The sale had been expected ever since Carlyle's last lockup expired in October. The private equity firm took advantage of a surge in Chinese stock prices in the last month, which has seen China Pacific gain 20% to reach a 17-month high last week.

Carlyle's investment in the insurer came across two tranches, in 2005 and 2007, through its debut Asia buyout fund. Following a restructuring of China Pacific's subsidiaries, the private equity firm ended up with a 19.9% stake in the parent company.

In 2005, China Pacific, the country's third-largest life insurer, was insolvent and losing money, its business kept afloat by accommodating government shareholders. Speaking to AVCJ last year, X.D. Yang, co-head of Carlyle Asia Partners, recalled having to put company management through a crash course in private equity.

"We knew the company had great potential but a lot of work had to be done," he said. "We spent a fair amount of time explaining what Carlyle is. That was a good process for the two sides to get to know each other and I have to give credit to China Pacific's management for recognizing that a global firm like Carlyle could make a difference to their business."

The company listed in Shanghai in 2007 and Hong Kong in 2009. Prior to the most recent transaction, Carlyle had made five partial exits over the course of two years, generating $4.4 billion.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Financials
• Buyout
• Greater China
• Exit
• The Carlyle Group
• buyout
• Financial Services
• China