Carlyle eyes $1 bln for Asian credit

The Carlyle Group is targeting $1 billion for direct lending investments in Asia, according to a limited partner who has heard the fund pitch.

The fund, Carlyle Asia Structured Credit Opportunities Fund, raised about one-third of the target so far, the LP said. A Form D filing earlier this month showed the fund had collected about $235.6 million from eight investors.

The fund will charge a 1 percent management fee and 15 percent carried interest rate. It will have a 7 percent preferred return hurdle, the LP said.

The fund, led by Greg Park, will have an eight-year life and a three-year investment period, the LP said. It will target investments in diversified sectors, including consumer, the LP said.

“The consumer [in Asia] has come a long way, but the runway in front of them is huge,” the LP said. “People hear Asia and immediately get uneasy based on what they [read] in the Wall Street Journal about China. In reality I think there are a lot of pros.”

Randy Whitestone, a spokesman for Carlyle, declined to comment. The fund is described by private equity data provider Preqin as a direct lending fund.

Carlyle began building up its Asia Structured Credit team over the last few years, bringing on Park and Tor Trivers from Northstone Peak Investment Advisors Limited. The firm also hired Harish Kartha as director in its Asia Structured Credit business last August from Hong Kong-based Aozora Asia Pacific Finance, according to a report from Creditflux and Kartha’s LinkedIn profile.

Other direct lending funds targeting Asia include PAG Asia Loan Funds I and II, the Religare Credit Opportunities Fund, which closed on $78.6 million in August, and the Edelweiss Special Opportunities Fund II, targeting $400 million, according to Preqin.

Action Item: See the Form D filing for Carlyle Asia Structured Credit Opportunities Fund here: http://1.usa.gov/1Z83JJn

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock