2008 Annual Report - The Carlyle Group

Continued from page 24to enhance operational and financial efficiencies. The teampromotes the value of its portfolio companies by pursuingmanagement and operational excellence.Carlyle Japan Partners uses a conservative and disciplinedinvestment approach with a goal of generatingstrong, consistent returns by focusing on industries inwhich it has a deep understanding. By leveraging localrelationships with Japanese corporations and financialinstitutions, the team seeks to identify strong valuecreationopportunities. Carlyle Japan Partners has amid- to long-term investment perspective with an aimtoward supporting businesses and helping them reachthe next level.Its current holdings include Covalent MaterialsCorporation, Kito Corporation, Qualicaps Group andWILLCOM (in partnership with Carlyle Partners III,L.P. and Carlyle Asia Partners, L.P.).In 2008, CJP II acquired NH Techno Glass, which wassubsequently rebranded as AvanStrate. The companymanufactures glass substrates for liquid crystal display.Carlyle MENA PartnersIn 2007, Carlyle became the first global private equityfirm to establish a presence in the Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA), an area that is home to theworld’s third-largest population group. In early 2009,its first fund, Carlyle MENA Partners, L.P., closed with$500 million in equity commitments.Carlyle MENA Partners seeks to invest in a disciplinedmanner in high-quality companies that haveleading market positions and healthy growth prospects.By leveraging its global network, industryexpertise and operational know-how, the team seeksto support the management of portfolio companies inidentifying clear paths towards value creation.In 2008, Carlyle made one investment in theMENA region: the acquisition of a 50% equity interestin TVK Gemi Yapim Sanayi Ve Ticaret. TVK is locatedin Turkey, in the Kocaeli Free Trade Zone, and specializesin the construction of chemical tankers with cargovolume of up to 25,000 deadweight tonnage.Carlyle MENA Partners is advised by a team of12 investment advisory professionals based in Cairo,Dubai and Istanbul with extensive local investmentknowledge and experience. In 2008, the team lookedat more than 200 investment opportunities andprogressed a few to the advanced stages of due diligence.However, because the global economic downturnbegan shortly after Carlyle MENA Partners waslaunched, the team has taken a cautious approach,focusing solely on opportunities that it believes cangenerate considerable returns for its investors whileminimizing downside risk.Carlyle Mexico PartnersLaunched in 2005, Carlyle Mexico Partners, L.P.(CMexP) has $134 million in commitments and isadvised exclusively by Mexican nationals. Each memberhas extensive local knowledge and is sensitive tothe country’s culture and business practices.Carlyle Mexico Partners seeks to invest in privatelyand publicly owned high-growth companiesand opportunistic restructurings in Carlyle’s coreindustries, such as industrial, consumer and businessservices. Typically, these companies have the potentialto take advantage of the converging economies ofMexico, the United States and Canada.In 2008, CMexP sold a majority stake inUniversidad Latinoamericana, an accredited, privateuniversity based in Mexico City, to Apollo Global. Ajoint venture formed by Apollo Group and CarlyleGrowth Partners, Apollo Global invests in the internationaleducation services sector.In late 2007, CMexP exited its investment inHispanic Teleservices Corporation (HTC), a providerof customized bilingual call center services, when itsold its majority stake to Teleperformance (ROCH:Paris Stock Exchange). Acquired in 2005, HTC tappedinto Carlyle’s global network and accessed new clients.After only two years of Carlyle ownership, thetotal number of employees more than tripled.Global Energy and Power FundsThe Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings, LLC formeda partnership in 2000 that conducts buyout and growthcapital investments in the midstream, upstream, powerand oilfield services sectors, as well as in the renewableand alternative sectors of the energy industry.Over the last nine years, Carlyle/Riverstone hasestablished six global energy, power and renewableenergy funds with aggregate equity commitmentstotaling $15.8 billion.28 The Carlyle Group 2008