Final Close near on Carlyle’s Mezz fund

The Carlyle Group’s inaugural mezzanine fund, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners LP, is set to hold a final close this month on as much as $450 million.

The fund was launched with a target of $400 million, according to public filings, and held an interim close last April on more than $170 million.

Searle & Co. is serving as placement agent to help market the fund.

Sources disagreed on the exact timing of the fund’s close. However, the consensus anticipates that the fund will close before the end of May. And while the fund is capped at $450 million, one source noted that it could possibly come in slightly below that figure.

Other mezzanine funds to close this year include Harbert Mezzanine Partners II ($233 million), Golub Capital International Ltd. ($340 million), Babson Capital Management’s Tower Square Capital Partners II ($1 billion) and York Street Mezzanine Partners II ($700 million).

A spokesperson for Carlyle declined to comment.