Carlyle raises $2.55 billion fund

The Carlyle Group has raised a new fund to pursue private equity investments in the region, closing Carlyle Asia Partners III with $2.55 billion of commitments.

The fund, Carlyle's third in Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, is more than 40% larger than its predecessor fund, Carlyle Asia Partners II, and takes the total capital Carlyle has committed to the region to more than $5 billion.

The new fund attracted interest from large institutional investors worldwide, including the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. We had more commitments from Asian investors than earlier, said XD Yang, co-head of Carlyle Asia Partners, in an exclusive interview. Many of...