European powerhouse CVC Capital Partners takes the crown in this week’s battle of the U.S. and European mega-buyout houses, securing first place in our list of top 10 funds based on private equity performance figures from California State Teachers’ Retirement System. U.S. and European firms both account for five of the top-10 spots with The Blackstone Group coming in a close second place.

Last week, we discovered which private equity firm was the biggest dealmaker. Now it’s time for the largest PE deals of the year. Global PE-backed M&A totaled $267 billion so far in 2012, a 12% drop from 2011, according to preliminary data from Thomson Reuters. Private equity-backed mergers targeting the U.S. reached roughly $137 billion year-to-date, a 7% decline from 2011.

Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP completed on Wednesday the sale of Metaldyne LLC for about $820 million to another buyout firm, its second divestment of a U.S. auto part supplier it picked up from bankruptcy in as many years.

It’s that time of year again. There’s only a few weeks left in 2012 and it’s time to find out which PE firm was the most active, and biggest, dealmaker this year. And the winner is…

The Carlyle Group has closed a $620 million collateralized loan obligation (CLO) fund, the firm’s fourth new-issue CLO in less than a year. Carlyle Global Market Strategies CLO 2012-4 will invest in corporate leveraged loans and high yield bonds. Wells Fargo arranged the transaction.

Hertz Global Holdings has announced the sale of 50,000,000 shares of common stock by investment funds associated with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and BofA Merrill Lynch to J.P. Morgan, as the sole underwriter in the registered public offering of those shares. The shares are being sold on a pro rata basis by these investment funds, which are existing stockholders of Hertz Holdings.

Today’s large dividend news comes from NBTY, which makes vitamins and nutritional supplements. Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based NBTY said its parent company, Alphabet Holding Co., plans to issue and sell $500 million in notes. NBTY said it expects to use proceeds from the notes, plus cash on hand, to pay a cash dividend to shareholders of about $672 million.

The Carlyle Group will likely more than make back its investment after Booz Allen’s $1 billion dividend.

Arrohead Mezzanine is seeking $500 million for its latest fund, its first since spinning out of Gleacher & Co. , as sponsor use of sub debt is on the rise.

BC Partners and The Carlyle Group are to acquire Hamilton Sundstrand Industrial, a manufacturer of mission-critical pumps and compressors for the global industrial, infrastructure and energy markets, from United Technologies Corporation. The transaction is valued at $3.46 billion. PRESS RELEASE BC Partners, a leading international private equity firm, and global alternative asset manager The Carlyle [...]