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Politics : Bush Administration's Media Manipulation--MediaGate? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (71)	2/19/2005 11:53:18 AM
From: M0NEYMADE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9838

*Carlyle doubles return to investors* by Lisa Gewirtz Updated 07:32 PM EST, Feb-14-2005 Go Bush/Chenney/Dumbsfeld thedeal.com The Carlyle Group returned $5.3 billion to investors last year, more than double the $2.1 billion it returned the previous year, according to a summary the firm released Monday, Feb. 14, of its investment activities for 2004. "It was our best year ever," said William Conway Jr., the Washington-based private-equity group's co-founder and managing director. Carlyle is not alone. Over the past two years, as the stock market has recovered, PE shops have been able to exit a backlog of investments. But Carlyle's numbers were substantial. In 2004, it raised $7.8 billion and invested $2.7 billion. It said it made 107 investments and 71 exits. Three of the most successful exits, the firm said, were Dex Media Inc., United Defense Industries Inc. and Horizon Lines LLC. In July, Carlyle and New York's Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe sold a piece of Englewood, Colo.-based Dex Media Inc. in an initial public offering. Including dividends before the IPO, they booked a 110% profit on the $1.6 billion of equity they invested in a two-stage, $7.05 billion leveraged buyout in 2002 and 2003. Carlyle, which still owns a stake in Dex Media, returned original private equity investment in less than a year and a half. As for United Defense Industries, Carlyle invested about $175 million in equity and made more than $1 billion through recaps and an IPO. And in the Horizon Lines deal, Carlyle said it earned more than 5 times its original investment. It bought Horizon from CSX Corp. in December 2002 for $300 million, a little more than $100 million in equity, and sold it to Castle Harlan Inc. for about $650 million. But 2004 appeared to be a banner year for other private equity firms, too. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., for example — which would not comment on the subject Monday — is expected to recount big returns to its investors for the same period. It clearly experienced success in raising funds. In 2003 KKR collected about $3.2 billion, according to figures The Deal compiled. By mid-2004 the company had already brought in another $4.2 billion. Some of its most successful deals included Willis Group Holdings Ltd., in which it earned nearly a nine-fold profit on a $300 million equity investment, and Canada's Shoppers Drug Mart Corp., in which it made a $272 million profit on its equity investment. Private equity firms ran into trouble exiting their investments in 2001, as the economy started to slow down. But the situation has turned around. Low interest rates and high returns have whetted investors' palates for private equity investments. Still, Carlyle's $2.7 billion in investments in 2004 only marginally exceeded the $2.6 billion of 2003, possibly because while the amount of money earmarked for private equity has risen, the opportunities for investment has not followed suit. As many private equity entrepreneurs gripe, a lot of money is chasing the same companies.