Carlyle Group raises $671m as it lowers IPO price ahead of listing
GLOBAL asset management firm Carlyle Group lowered its IPO price ahead of its Nasdaq debut today.
Last night Carlyle, which has about $147bn in assets under management, priced its flotation at $22 a share, falling short of the $23-$25 range initially touted.
Carlyle raised $671m from the sale of about 10 per cent of its stock, sending the private equity firm towards a $7bn market cap.
The lower offering price was thought to be an attempt to attract certain desirable large shareholders and to encourage strong trading on its first day as a listed company.
And the plan seems to have worked. Sources said yesterday that Carlyle has taken orders for more than the 30.5m shares on offer.
According to Dealogic, if the full over-allotment of Carlyle’s shares is used – pushing the takings up to $772m – it would be the biggest IPO this year by deal size and the third biggest private equity float behind KKR and Blackstone.
Proceeds from the IPO will be used to pay down debt and finance operations, acquisitions and new fund commitments, the firm said.
JP Morgan, Citigroup and Credit Suisse and BoA Merill Lynch acted as underwriters on the flotation.