Carlyle Group closes CAP III at $2.55 bn

Global private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, today said it has closed its Carlyle Asia Partners III (CAP III) at $2.55 billion, which is more than 40 per cent larger than its predecessor fund, Carlyle Asia Partners II.

Carlyle Asia Partners III is the third ex-Japan Asia-Pacific private equity fund managed by Carlyle Asia Partners, which manages an aggregate committed capital of more than five billion dollars in three funds, a press release issued here stated.

The new fund has attracted commitments from large institutional investors from around the world, including the United States, West Asia, Europe and Asia, the release said.

"The closing of CAP III at $2.5 billion is an important milestone for Carlyle in India. Our previous fund made one of the largest private equity investments ever in India and we plan to continue this leadership," Carlyle Group's Managing Director, India, Rajeev Gupta, said.

The group invests through a dedicated team of 40 local professionals across seven offices -- Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.

In India, Carlyle invested $650 million in Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited in 2007, the release said.

"It is an affirmation of our investment strategy and track-record as well as the attractiveness of opportunities in the region," Carlyle Asia Partners' Managing Director and Co-Head, XD Yang, said. 

"We believe that 2010 is shaping up to be a very good year to make investments in Asia as the region bounces back strongly from the global economic crises. We see strong investment opportunities across the entire region and look forward to investing with this significant pool of capital resources at this attractive time," Yang said.

Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $88.6 billion of assets under management committed to 67 funds as of December 31, 2009.