Carlyle tops $550 mln on Japan Partners III

Carlyle filed a pair of Form Ds with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 25 signifying the close. The firm began marketing Carlyle Japan Partners III last year.

The Form Ds list firm founders William Conway, Daniel D’Aniello and David Rubenstein as executive officers on the fund, as well as Managing Directors Jonathan Colby and David Pearson. Colby previously served on the investment committees for Carlyle Japan Partners I and II, according to the firm’s website.

Carlyle expects to complete fundraising at or around the fund’s target at some point this year, Rubenstein said during a February earnings call.

The firm has already used the fund to close one deal, having acquired snack food manufacturer Oyatsu Co Ltd in May, according to its website. In June, Carlyle agreed to acquire Japanese health and nutrition company Sunsho Pharmaceutical for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close in August.

Carlyle has been active in Japan for more than a decade, having launched its debut Japanese buyout fund in 2001 with 50 billion Japanese yen ($491.2 million), according to its website. That fund had netted an impressive 34.1 percent internal rate of return and 2.4x investment multiple as of Dec. 31, 2013, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

The follow-up vehicle, which raised 215.6 billion Japanese yen according to a 2006 press release but was later reduced to165.6 billion Japanese Yen, has struggled in comparison. Japan Partners II was netting a negative 3.7 percent internal rate of return and 0.9x investment multiple as of Dec. 31, 2013, according to CalPERS.

Carlyle’s Japanese buyout team is based in Tokyo. The team is led by Managing Directors Tamotsu Adachi and Kazuhiro Yamada, according to the firm’s website.

(Clarification: The original story has been clarified to note that Carlyle’s second fund had a size reduction after it was raised.)