Market wrap up: Riverstone, Carlyle partner up on fourth fund

The partnership between Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group is at the forefront of the latest fund-raising activity. The private equity firms raised $3.8 billion in commitments for their joint Riverstone/Carlyle Global Energy & Power Fund IV vehicle, which is targeted at $6 billion.

The firms raised $3.8 billion for fund III, which closed in 2005.

The latest effort brings the year-to-date fund-raising total by buyout and mezzanine firms to $247.5 billion.

Separately, Carlyle also raised $375 million for Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II, which has a $1 billion target.

Other firms that took a crack at fund-raising in the past week include Odyssey Investment Partners, which has now raised $596.5 million for Odyssey Investment Partners Fund IV. The New York-based firm is using Credit Suisse as a placement agent for the fund, which seeks to raise $1 billion.

In addition, Transportation Resources Partners has secured $234.4 million for Transportation Resource Partners III, which has a $400 million target. Hastings Equity Partners is seeking to secure $100 million for its second fund. The Waltham, Mass.-based firm has raised about $56 million so far.

Deal activity

There were five LBO deals during the past week, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of PE Week). None of the transactions had a disclosed price, which leaves the year-to-date deal volume unchanged at $124.8 billion.

The latest transactions include Joshua Partners’ purchase of Medicia Corp., a maker of personal care products, and Momentum Capital Partners’ acquisition of Magnum Tunneling & Boring, a provider of heavy underground construction and infrastructure services.