Carlyle LP meeting nears 1000 people

The Carlyle Group will hold its annual investor meeting next week in Washington DC, an event that will involve as many as 900 people, according to a person close to the firm.

The firm currently oversees 42 private funds and has grown to more than $44 billion (€35 billion) in capital under management. The firm also has plans for further expansion, some of which is expected to be detailed at the limited partner event.

Like other investor meetings, Carlyle’s is designed as an annual update of the performance of its funds for the limited partners. But given Carlyle’s size, global scope, and several strategies, its LP meeting has been described by those to have attended as a feat of logistics.

Among forward-looking topics to be discussed at the event are two new strategies that Carlyle will soon enter – hedge funds, and the Middle East. Like some other large private equity firms, Carlyle will soon launch a branded hedge fund programme.

As has been recently alluded to by Carlyle co-founded David Rubenstein, the firm is also preparing to expand its investment activities to emerging economies, including those of the Middle East. While the firm has not set a target size yet, it will soon begin raising capital for a private equity fund targeting the Middle East, according to a source.

At a May gathering of private equity professionals sponsored by the International Finance Corporation, Rubenstein said his firm would also increase its presence in Africa and Latin America.

In the past year, Carlyle has expanded its franchise to include a mezzanine debt investment business, an infrastructure investment team, and a joint venture with billionaire Robert Johnson to invest in minority and underserved markets, among several other developments. The firm is currently about 60 percent through its US buyout fund, which raised $7.8 billion last year. Sources close to the firm say that for its next US buyout fund, Carlyle will target an amount that will place it in league with The Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific Group, all of which have drawn commitments in excess of $15 billion for their respective most recent funds, although only Blackstone has announced a final close.