The Carlyle Group Raises €5.35 billion for Third European Buyout Fund

London - Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announces that it has closed its third, dedicated European buyout fund, Carlyle Europe Partners III (CEP III), at €5.35 billion .

Building on The Carlyle Group’s decade of success in Europe, CEP III will invest in companies with potential for value creation through performance improvement and organic growth. CEP III’s investments will be focused in Carlyle’s core sectors of aerospace, automotive & transportation, building materials, chemicals, consumer & retail, energy & power, healthcare, industrial, business services and telecommunications & media.

Since operations began in Europe in 1997 with the opening of offices in Paris and Munich, Carlyle has raised two European funds, Carlyle Europe Partners, a €1 billion fund closed in 1998, and Carlyle Europe Partners II, a €1.8 billion fund closed in 2005. Carlyle has invested €3.7 billion of equity in 36 leveraged buy-out (LBO) transactions in Europe and returned €7.2 billion to investors. Carlyle’s Europe Buyout team consists of 37 investment professionals with offices spanning Europe’s key markets, including London, Paris, Munich, Barcelona and Milan. Notable transactions include Avio, AZ Electronic Materials, Casema, Com Hem, Ensus, Firth Rixson, Hertz, Honsel, HT Troplast, Le Figaro, Qinetiq, Medimedia, Petroplus, Saprogal, and Terreal.

As of June 30, 2007, The Carlyle Group has $24.7 billion dedicated to LBOs across the globe. As of August 28, 2007, Carlyle manages 55 active funds with $75.6 billion of commitments. The European buyout team, itself offering 170 years of combined experience in private equity, is able to tap into the expertise of over 500 investment professionals operating out of offices in 21 countries. Combining global vision and local insight, Carlyle is able to uncover superior investment opportunities and apply deep sector and market experience to creating value in its portfolio of more than 200 companies.

Jean Pierre Millet, Carlyle Europe Buyout’s Chief Investment Officer, comments, “We are delighted that Carlyle’s 10 year track record of value creation and superior returns has given investors such confidence in the Europe buyout team, enabling us to raise successfully a third dedicated fund. The fact that CEP III is substantially larger than CEP II demonstrates the premium that investors place on Carlyle’s unique combination of truly local deal professionals and global sector expertise. ” David Rubenstein, Co-Founder of The Carlyle Group, adds, “The European market is maturing and the investment environment has become more challenging. However, there remain significant opportunities across the continent, and we will continue to apply our conservative philosophy and disciplined investment process in executing deals. Our focus on operational improvement and growing value in companies has delivered extraordinary returns for our investors through good times and bad. We look forward to leveraging the firepower of our third European fund to the benefit of our investors across the world.