September 18, 2009

The Carlyle Group = Decepticons


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f1/Carlyle_Group_historical_logo.png/150px-Carlyle_Group_historical_logo.png        =       http://thm-a02.yimg.com/image/5c481ca3022fd6c2


The Carlyle Group is a global private equity investment firm, based in Washington, D.C., with more than $84.5 billion of equity capital under management, diversified over 64 different funds as of March 31, 2009.[1] The firm operates four fund families, focusing on leveraged buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance investments. The firm employs more than 890 employees, including 495 investment professionals in 20 countries with several offices in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia; its portfolio companies employ more than 415,000 people worldwide. Carlyle has over 1300 investors in 71 countries.

The firm has employed political figures and notable investors. Some of these figures include former US President George H. W. Bush, former British Prime Minister John Major and former US Secretary of State James A. Baker III along with George Soros.

Carlyle was ranked as the largest private equity firm in the world, according to a ranking called the PEI 50 based on capital under management.


Current portfolio and major acquisitions

Carlyle has investments spread out over several different industries, with about 22% of their investments in energy and power, 19% in real estate, 15% in technology and business services, 8% in consumer and retail, 8% in industrial, 6% in telecommunications and media, 6% in transportation, 6% in healthcare, 5% in aerospace, and 4% devoted to other industries, according to their 2008 annual report. Noted portfolio companies are Dex Media, the former directories business of Qwest Communications; Willcom, a Japanese wireless company; Casema, a Dutch cable company; and Insight Communications, the ninth largest cable company in the U.S. The Carlyle Group was once a major investor in US Investigations Services, which is the privatized arm of the United States Office of Personnel Management's Office of Federal Investigations, but has since divested itself, selling its stake to Providence Equity Partners in 2007.[citation needed]

Brand-name companies that Carlyle owns include: Dunkin' Brands, which owns Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, and oral hygiene company Water Pik. Carlyle, in a consortium of investors, recently acquired the Hertz, the world's largest rental car corporation.

In October 1997 Carlyle acquired United Defense Industries , bringing in over 60% of Carlyle's defense business. United Defense went public on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2001 with Carlyle retaining a stock ownership position. Carlyle completed the sale of all of its United Defense stock and exited the investment in April 2004. One major United Defense program was the XM2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer which was canceled by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in early 2002 causing United Defense stock prices to fall 27 percent. Since then, The Carlyle Group has divested the majority of its interest from the defense industry.

On January 29, 2007, Carlyle announced that it would acquire Synagro Technologies, Inc, which according to Synagro's website is "the largest recycler of biosolids and other organic residuals in the United States". The total enterprise value of the transaction, including the assumption of debt, is $772 million.

On June 28, 2007, Carlyle announced that it would partner with Onex Corporation to buy the Allison Transmission unit from General Motors for $5.6 billion.

In June 2007, Carlyle agrees to acquire HD Supply for $10.3 billion, along with Bain Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (with each agreeing to buy a one-third stake in the division). Home Depot sold their wholesale construction supply business to fund a stock repurchase estimated at $40 billion

On July 28, 2007, Carlyle announced the acquisition of Applus+ from its shareholders Agbar, Unión Fenosa and Caja Madrid for an enterprise value of €1,480 million.

On December 18, 2007, David Rubenstein, representing the Carlyle Group, purchased the Magna Carta (one of seventeen copies) at Sotheby's Auction House in New York City. He paid the Perot Foundation $21.3 million. Mr. Rubenstein expressed his intent for it to be returned to the National Archives for display.

On May 16, 2008, Booz Allen Hamilton announced that it would selling a majority stake in the US government business to The Carlyle Group for $2.54 billion. The transaction was expected to be complete July 31, 2008.

On August 2008, Carlyle Group bought IRIS Unified Ag through FRS Global.

 Carlyle Capital Corporation

In March 2008, Carlyle Capital Corporation, established in August 2006 for the purpose of making investments in U.S. mortgage-backed securities, defaulted on about US$ 16.6 billion of debt as the global credit crunch brought about by the subprime mortgage crisis worsened for leveraged investors. The Guernsey-based affiliate of Carlyle was very heavily leveraged , up to 32 times by some accounts, and it expects its creditors to seize its remaining assets. Tremors in the mortgage markets induced several of Carlyle's 13 lenders to make margin calls or to declare Carlyle in default on its loans. In response to the forced liquidation of mortgage-backed assets caused by the Carlyle margin calls and other similar developments in credit markets, on March 11, 2008, the Federal Reserve gave Wall Street's primary dealers the right to post mortgaged-back securities as collateral for loans of up to $200 billion in higher-grade, U.S. government-backed securities. On March 12, 2008, BBC News Online reported that "instead of underpinning the mortgage-backed securities market, it seems to have had the opposite effect, giving lenders an opportunity to dump the risky asset" and that Carlyle Capital Corp. "will collapse if, as expected, its lenders seize its remaining assets." On March 16, 2008, Carlyle Capital announced that its Class A Shareholders had voted unanimously in favor of the Corporation filing a petition under Part XVI, Sec. 96, of the Companies Law (1994) of Guernsey for a "compulsory winding up proceeding" to permit all its remaining assets to be liquidated by a court appointed liquidator.

The losses to the Carlyle Group due to the collapse of Carlyle Capital is reported to be "minimal from a financial standpoint".

 Documentaries

Carlyle has been profiled in two notable documentaries, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 and William Karel's The World According to Bush.

In the documentary film Fahrenheit 911, Michael Moore makes nine allegations concerning the Carlyle Group, including: That the Bin Laden and Bush families were both connected to the Group; that following the attacks on September 11, the bin Laden family's investments in the Carlyle Group became an embarrassment to the Carlyle Group and the family was forced to liquidate their assets with the firm; that the Carlyle group was, in essence, the 11th largest defense contractor in the United States. Moore focused on Carlyle's connections with George H. W. Bush and his Secretary of State James A. Baker III, both of whom had at times served as advisors to the firm.

A Carlyle spokesman noted in 2003 that its 7% interest in defense industries was far less than several other Private equity firms. Carlyle also has provided detail on its links with the Bin Laden family, specifically the relatively minor investments by an estranged half brother.

In his documentary The World According to Bush (May 2004), William Karel interviewed Frank Carlucci to discuss the presence of Shafiq bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's estranged brother at Carlyle's annual investor conference while the September 11 attacks were occurring.






Notable current and former employees and advisors

Business

Political figures

North America

Europe

Asia

  • Anand Panyarachun, former Prime Minister of Thailand (twice), former member of the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board until the board was disbanded in 2004
  • Fidel V. Ramos, former president of the Philippines, Carlyle Asia Advisor Board Member until the board was disbanded in 2004
  • Peter Chung, former associate at Carlyle Group Korea, who resigned in 2001 after 2 weeks on the job after his infamous email scandal
  • Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand (twice), former member of the Carlyle Asia Advisory Board until 2001 when he resigned upon being elected Prime Minister. [31]

 Media

  • Norman Pearlstine - editor-in-chief of Time magazine from (1995-2005), senior advisor telecommunications and media group 2006-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group






Posted by Me at Friday, September 18, 2009

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