Carlyle one-and-done CETP IV raises €1.35 bln in three months

Carlyle Group needed only three months to raise its latest lower-middle-market technology fund.

Fundraising for the one-and-done pool began in October, said Mike Arpey, Carlyle’s global head of IR. CETP IV ended up closing on 1.35 billion euros ($1.55 billion), double the 656 million euros CETP III collected in 2014.

CETP IV was targeting 1.25 billion euros; Carlyle contributed 100 million euros, Arpey said.

“The amount of interest was incredible,” Arpey told Buyouts. “This fund could’ve been substantially bigger if we wanted it to be.”

Nearly half (45 percent) of CETP IV’s investors came from outside Europe, Arpey said. That’s up from 10 percent for CETP III. More than half the commitments for CETP IV came from new LPs while current investors re-upped. “Lots of interest came from around the world,” he said.

CETP IV will invest 30 million to 80 million euros in small to midsized tech companies in Europe and the U.S. The companies should have Ebitda of 5 million to 25 million euros.

Carlyle benefited from the trend of pension funds moving their money from stocks to alternatives. Such a move “disproportionately” helps larger firms like Carlyle, Arpey said. “Large investors are looking to do more things with fewer parties and there is definitely a strategic benefit from that,” he said.

Arpey wouldn’t disclose any terms of CETP IV but said it was “commensurate” with other top-tier tech funds.

On Jan. 31, Technology Crossover Ventures said it raised $3 billion for its latest fund.

And this week, Thoma Bravo closed its latest flagship fund on its $12.6 billion hard cap. Vista Equity also collected $11.4 billion for its latest flagship, which is seeking $16 billion, the Wall Street Journal said in October.

Action Item: for more information, check out Carlyle’s website here.