Carlyle Group upbeat despite $3bn quarterly asset value drop
PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group reported a nearly two per cent drop in assets under management yesterday, as it revealed a second quarter loss.
Total assets have declined $3bn (£1.91bn) since March to $156bn, although rival private equity groups have suffered larger declines in assets.
The group, one of the largest private equity fund managers in the world, also saw an economic net loss of $57m from a profit of $392m last quarter and $237m a year ago.
“While the short-term outlook is cloudy, I would argue that we have historically made some of our best investments during times like these,” Carlyle’s co-chief executive William Conway said. “Great investments can be made in a bad economy and lousy investments can be made in a vibrant economy.”
The group revealed it had raised $3.9bn from investors in the second quarter — the most since 2008 — taking the total raised this year to $6bn.
Co-chief executive David Rubenstein, who helped set up the firm, said: “The nearly $4bn in new capital we raised this quarter reflects the expected pick-up in fundraising as our sixth US buyout fund began to close on new commitments.”