Private equity firm the Carlyle Group has completed raising its second mezzanine investment fund, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II, with equity commitments of USD553m.
Private equity firm the Carlyle Group has completed raising its second mezzanine investment fund, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II, with equity commitments of USD553m.
The firm’s first mezzanine fund, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners I, closed in 2006 with USD436m in equity commitments.
Carlyle Mezzanine Partners co-head Leo A. Helmers (pictured) says: ‘We are delighted to raise this new fund as the mezzanine asset class experiences strong growth in response to the significant supply-demand imbalance in today’s credit markets. The lack of debt financing alternatives in the market provides CMP an opportunity to get very high risk-adjusted returns in its mezzanine portfolio.’
Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II received strong support from its existing limited partner base, a diverse group including US state pension plans, insurance companies, university endowments and high net worth individuals. The fund is US-focused but can invest up to 25 per cent of the fund outside the country.
The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with USD91.5bn of assets under management committed to 66 funds as of 30 September. Carlyle invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace and defence, automotive and transportation, consumer and retail, energy and power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology and business services, and telecommunications and media.
