Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP has closed its fourth Asia fund Carlyle Asia Partners IV (CAP IV) at $3.9 billion, the second-largest private equity fund ever raised for Asia investments, the company said.
The corpus is more than 50 per cent of its previous fund Carlyle Asia Partners III and adds to the $140 billion of dry powder that various PE firms have raised for the region.
Last year, KKR & Co raised a record $6 billion for its Asia fund.
The final close of CAP IV, which exceeded its target of $3.5 billion, brings the firm’s assets under management in Asia, including Japan, to $13.6 billion across its buyout, growth, RMB and real estate funds.
Carlyle’s Asia buyout funds make control and significant minority investments across the region including India but excluding Japan. It is raising a separate country-focused fund for Japan.
It has already made two investments from the new fund. In May, it invested in ADT Korea, a prominent security services company and last month it invested in Ganji.com, a top operator of online and mobile-based classifieds in China.
"With a focus on opportunities in the consumer and retail, financial services, TMT and healthcare sectors, we will work to build on the strong track record of our previous funds for our investors,†said XD Yang, MD and co-head of the Carlyle Asia buyout team.
David M Rubenstein, co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, said, "Carlyle is a pioneer in private equity investing in Asia. Our diverse Asian platform has created significant value for our investors. We are excited about the great opportunities we see throughout Asia and are committed to investing resources, expertise and capital in this critical region of the global economy."
The Carlyle Asia buyout team has 44 employees in its eight offices who advise four pan-Asia funds and one RMB fund.
Having first established its presence in the Asia Pacific region in 1998, Carlyle now has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo.
Carlyle has invested $14.1 billion in equity throughout Asia Pacific as of June 30, 2014 and has invested $5.2 billion in about 80 transactions in China, as of March 31, 2014, having started its operations in the country in 1998, making it one of the largest foreign investors in China.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)