Carlyle Group Planning IPO

Private equity giant Carlyle Group is planning an IPO to build capital to fund more buyouts.

"There will be significant advantages to having a lot more capital," CEO William Conway told Bloomberg Businessweek. "Investors are reducing commitments to funds and making economic terms much less attractive."

The company is planning to file papers in late 2011, with the IPO taking place the following year.

Private equity companies are struggling to raise funds for buyouts as the financial crisis has made investors more risk averse. Buyout firms raised $71 billion from investors through the third quarter, putting them on track to have their worst fund-raising year since 2004, Bloomberg Businessweek said.

Carlyle has been considering an IPO since at least June 2007, when Blackstone Group (BX) sold shares. When the financial crisis hit, Carlyle put the IPO plans on hold and sold a 7.5% stake to Mubadala Development Co., an arm of the Abu Dhabi government.