CalPERS co-invests more than $100 mln with Carlyle in Acosta buyout

CalPERS in September made a $104 million commitment to Carlyle Acosta Coinvestment LP through its private equity program, according November investment committee meeting materials. That was the same month Carlyle acquired the consumer goods marketing agency from Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Carlyle has said it provided $1.4 billion of equity for the deal, which was funded with approximately $3 billion of debt. It is unclear whether co-investors made up the $400 million difference.

A spokesman for CalPERS did not respond to a request for comment. A Carlyle spokesman declined to comment.

Carlyle acquired Acosta through Carlyle Partners VI, a 2013 vintage fund that closed on $13 billion last year. Fund VI’s final tally included a $547 million commitment from CalPERS, which is one of Carlyle’s oldest and most prominent investors. Carlyle managed more than $5 billion for CalPERS across approximately 30 funds as of early March, according to CalPERS.

CalPERS actively pursues coinvestments alongside its fund managers and allocated $361 million across five deals with existing GPs during the 2013/2014 fiscal year, according to a Pension Consulting Alliance report.

The retirement system hired Mahboob Hossain to run its four person private equity co-investment team in September. Hossain previously managed a private equity portfolio for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.