Latest news with #CarlyleGroupInc
The Star
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Carlyle on Japan hiring spree for new US$3bil fund
TOKYO: Carlyle Group Inc has said it is on course to hire 10 investment professionals in Tokyo as it starts dealmaking for its latest 430 billion yuan (US$3bil) Japan buyout fund. The Washington-based private equity firm has already made four junior to mid-level hires this year, and aims to add six more by December, according to Carlyle Japan co-head Takaomi Tomioka. That will bring its total number of investment professionals in Japan to 35. Private equity has found a sweet spot in Japan in recent years, where borrowing costs remain low and companies from large corporations to smaller family-owned businesses have become receptive to selling off operations. Investors are also more keen to allocate money to Japan-focused funds. But the boom has also made recruitment increasingly competitive in the market, Tomioka said in an interview. 'Many new funds that have set up in Japan are frantically trying to hire,' he said. 'The competition is very intense.' Carlyle's Japan expansion comes as US President Donald Trump's tariff policies cloud the outlook for global businesses and investors. That has made evaluating new opportunities and exits via initial public offerings (IPOs) more complex, according to Tomioka. Most of Carlyle's Japan investments have been in medium-sized companies with a domestic focus, helping to shield it from some of the global trade turmoil. The firm, now in its 25th year of business in Japan, is still on track to invest its planned 100 billion yuan in the country for 2025, Tomioka said. Carlyle is seeking an IPO this year for portfolio company Orion Breweries Ltd, Tomioka said, pointing to the Okinawa-based beermaker's locally focused consumer business as less likely to be impacted by the trade ructions. Carlyle took Orion private in 2019 with the investment arm of Nomura Holdings Inc. Tariff policies have also had little influence on the factors driving dealmaking for private equity in Japan, according to Tomioka. Intensifying pressure to improve shareholder value is spurring local companies to go private or sell off non-core operations, and many smaller businesses face succession issues, he said. 'There is a significant deal flow,' he said. 'However, we need to be cautious about whether the companies we evaluate for investment can actually execute their business plans as planned within the current global economic environment. That assessment is crucial.' Most recently, Carlyle has acquired KFC Holdings Japan Ltd and is in the process of privatising software provider Kaonavi Inc. Carlyle's latest Japan buyout fund, its fifth, finished fundraising last year and is about 70% bigger than the previous one. Appetite was so strong that it sapped investor interest from a separate Carlyle pan-Asia buyout fund, Bloomberg reported last year. Japan-focused funds have drawn investment during a period of stagnant fundraising. The share of private equity capital raised focused on the country rose to 15% of the Asia-Pacific total last year from 7% in 2019, according to a report from Bain & Co. In the current global environment, Japanese companies that are focused on domestic businesses and not expanding globally are actually very appealing, Tomioka said. 'They are easier to invest in right now, and many are in our pipeline,' he said. — Bloomberg
Calgary Herald
01-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Large AI projects present US$1.8 trillion capital pool for private credit
Article content The artificial intelligence boom is driving business to private credit firms, as tech companies seek funding to build data centres filled with computing chips to operate AI models. Article content Carlyle Group Inc. expects more than US$1.8 trillion of capital will be deployed by 2030 to meet that demand, and a chunk of that can be taken up by the private markets, chief executive Harvey Schwartz recently wrote in a shareholder letter. Article content Article content A slew of tech companies have already tapped private capital — both private equity and debt — to help build the physical infrastructure needed to support AI. Article content Startup Nscale is looking for US$2.7 billion, including a US$1.8 billion private credit loan, on the back of a pending ByteDance Ltd partnership. SoftBank Group Corp. has sought a US$16.5 billion loan to fund such investments in the United States. Meta Platforms Inc. is looking to raise billions in financing to develop data centres domestically, with Apollo Global Management Inc and KKR & Co. as potential investors. Article content Article content Private lenders have been searching for avenues outside of traditional corporate lending for growth and tap into areas of credit that can come with higher ratings. Financing AI infrastructure is one of those paths, according to market participants. Article content Article content Ares Management Corp. has estimated private investors could fund about US$5.5 trillion of capital across debt and equity in global infrastructure, including AI-focused projects, through 2035, according to a report this year. Article content Cloud computing firms, and tech companies generally looking to develop AI programs, need an immense amount of capital. That can come in the form of investment-grade loans backed by microchips or data centre leases with contracts tied to companies with top-tier credit scores.
Bloomberg
17-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Carlyle CEO Says Stickiness of Inflation Reflects Strong Economy
Carlyle Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz said inflation across the firm's portfolio companies is showing that the economy remains resilient, making it too early to judge whether the US is headed toward a recession. 'We see the stickiness of inflation,' Schwartz said on Wednesday in an interview for an upcoming series for Bloomberg Originals, Bullish. 'That's actually a reflection of a strong economy, low unemployment.'
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wall Street Executives Say Tariff Uncertainty Is Drag on Markets
(Bloomberg) -- Top Wall Street executives, financial regulators and analysts gathered in New York's financial district said they were bracing for market volatility from President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs on the biggest US trading partners. How Upzoning in Cambridge Broke the YIMBY Mold Republican Mayor Braces for Tariffs: 'We Didn't Budget for This' Remembering the Landscape Architect Who Embraced the City NYC's Finances Are Sinking With Gauge Falling to 11-Year Low US Tent Facility is Holding Migrant Families Longer Than Recommended 'We should all buckle up a bit,' Carlyle Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz said Tuesday at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York. The tariffs announced this week lobbed 25% duties on most Canadian and Mexican imports and raised the charge on China to 20%. Markets gyrated as traders grappled with questions about how tariffs will affect prices across the economy. The S&P 500 tumbled 1.2% on the day, wiping out all of the benchmark's gains since Trump's Nov. 5 election victory. Then, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business that the administration could announce a plan for tariff relief on Mexican and Canadian goods covered by North America's free trade agreement as soon as Wednesday. Tariff Walls 'We've not seen this level of tariffs, at least in modern times,' Lazard Inc. President Ray McGuire said at the event. Former US Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned that the tariffs will eventually have adverse effects on the economy. 'If the new normal is a world of tariff walls, then we'll all just be less productive, less efficient and less effective as economies,' Rubin said, adding that the levies would violate congressionally approved treaties and hurt growth and productivity. New York Federal Reserve President John Williams pointed out that the last round of tariffs in 2018 and 2019 prompted a short-term boost to inflation, but that at the time central bankers were dealing with inflation that was too low. Now, after a few years of too-high inflation, 'it's a different context,' he said. International Business Machines Corp. Vice Chairman Gary Cohn pointed out that tariffs have various purposes, but if the point is to raise money, it's doing so at the expense of less-wealthy Americans. Tariffs are 'a really regressive way' to raise revenue, he said. Cohn served as chief economic adviser to Trump during his first administration before resigning in 2018 amid a disagreement over the president's plans to levy large steel and aluminum tariffs. One unanswered question is whether the Trump administration is implementing a one-time tariff — or escalating a full-fledged trade war, said Schwartz. A one-time tariff 'is a one-time step up in price acceleration, but it's not sustainably inflationary,' he said. 'Trade wars are sustainably inflationary.' He warned that markets are potentially too fixated on data points that might not be able to bring clarity on the direction of policies. 'We just don't know where the tariff discussions are going to go,' Schwartz said. 'It's too early.' Others also advised patience. Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray said investors should let 'tariff diplomacy' play out. 'Take two steps back, no one should panic,' said New York Stock Exchange President Lynn Martin. --With assistance from Erin Fuchs and Jeremy Hill. The Mysterious Billionaire Behind the World's Most Popular Vapes Rich People Are Firing a Cash Cannon at the US Economy—But at What Cost? Snack Makers Are Removing Fake Colors From Processed Foods Trump's SALT Tax Promise Hinges on an Obscure Loophole Greenland Voters Weigh Their Election's Most Important Issue: Trump ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
04-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Carlyle CEO Schwartz Says ‘Buckle Up' as Trump Tariffs Kick In
Carlyle Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Harvey Schwartz said he expects increased market volatility in the wake of President Donald Trump's tariffs on the biggest US trading partners. 'We should all buckle up a bit,' Schwartz said Tuesday at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York.
