Private equity giant Carlyle Group completed a blockbuster majority stake acquisition in the energy sector and invested in a promising artificial intelligence technology company in an upbeat third quarter that topped estimates.
Co-CEOs Kewsong Lee and Glenn Youngkin said that the company achieved “solid operating momentum” while cautioning they are operating in an “investment environment that remains challenging.”
The company, with massive real estate and energy holdings. closed its purchase of a 37% stake in Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa Mubadala during the quarter. Cepsa Mubadala has increased its investment in alternative energy, announcing a partnership in January with the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company to generate 500-600 megawatts solar and wind energy in Spain and Portugal.
Carlyle also continued its interest in the technology, media and information sectors with a lead investment in HireVue, a Salt Lake City-based startup whose AI systems help organizations evaluate job candidates.
The company has followed other private equity firms in considering social impact issues in its practices and investment strategies. Carlyle says it has invested $3.4 billion over the past decade in companies aligning with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These firms include Liberty Tire Recycling, Jeanologia, NOSA and Valcour Wind Energy.
- Carlyle’s $769 million in revenue for the quarter topped analyst estimates of $515 million and was up from $679 million a year earlier. Revenue did drop from the $1.06 billion posted in the second quarter. Distributable earnings of $.41 cents per unit beat estimates by a penny.
- Carlyle has more than $221 billion in assets under management, up from $212 billion a year ago.
- The company ranked second in Private Equity International’s 2018 survey of private equity firms’ five-year fundraising totals. Carlyle raised more than $62 billion over the period behind only Blackstone Group’s $83 billion.
- Carlyle raised $5.7 billion in capital in the quarter, slightly down from what it raised in the same quarter a year earlier.
