Carlyle cuts Asia fundraising target to $6 billion in challenging market-sources
By Kane Wu and M. Sriram
HONG KONG/MUMBAI (Reuters) — U.S investment giant Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) has lowered the target for its latest pan-Asia private equity fund by at least 30% from its original $8.5 billion, three people with knowledge of the matter said, as a slowing global economy and geopolitical tensions dull investors' appetite.
Carlyle, which started raising its sixth Asia-focused fund in mid-2022, has bagged less than $3 billion so far, two of the sources said.
Carlyle did not disclose to investors why it had lowered the target, the sources said, with one of the people adding that the recent poor performance of funds could be a factor.
Carlyle is now targeting up to $6 billion in total, the sources said. The company is aiming for a final close of the fundraising in the third quarter next year, one of the people said.
All the sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
A Carlyle spokesperson declined to comment.
Carlyle's downsizing comes as private equity firms struggle to cash out on their assets amid volatility caused by conflicts in the Middle East and Europe, rising inflation and higher interest rates, all factors that are expected to crimp global economic growth next year.
It is not immediately clear if Carlyle has already reached first close, which refers to the stage when a private equity firm has secured the bulk of its targeted fundraising amount and can start investing in companies.
Investors in private equity companies, known as limited partners, typically reinvest after having booked returns from their previous investments.
Asia-focused fundraising has fallen nearly three-fourths this year from 2021, Preqin data shows. While funds raised $299 billion in
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