Carlyle seeks dealmaking opportunities to deploy $84 billion in dry powder

Carlyle Group will hunt for opportunities to put its $84 billion of capital to use, it said on Thursday, joining a growing host of investment managers seeking to capitalize on the current market disruption and snap up assets at a bargain.

While President Donald Trump's tariff plans have roiled markets, the direct impact on Carlyle is limited, CEO Harvey Schwartz said, noting that most of its private equity holdings are U.S.-based companies focused on services instead of goods.

"We are well-positioned to be active in this market environment as opportunities emerge," Schwartz said.

Large asset managers such as Carlyle have navigated the economic environment with relative ease, partly because their investment portfolios can fetch millions in fees. Also, with trade-related uncertainty disrupting exits in the U.S., these firms continue to sell assets in other geographies such as Asia, where the impact is less severe.

Carlyle beat estimates for first-quarter profit as its assets under management climbed to a record, driving fee-related earnings up 17% to an all-time high of $310.6 million.

Fund management fees grew 2% while transaction and portfolio advisory fees — which it earns from arranging capital markets deals for its portfolio companies and other clients — jumped nearly threefold.

Carlyle's shares rose 3.5% to $41.35.

PRIVATE MARKET POTENTIAL

The Washington, D.C.-based company recorded inflows of $14.2 billion. It deployed $11.1 billion and had $84 billion available for investment.

CEO Schwartz, like his peers, sees private market access as central to the next stage of growth for the alternative asset management industry.

"For investors looking to drive returns and capture the next generation of market growth, private market access has never been more important," he said, citing the shrinking pool of public companies and the growing number of private ones.

Globally, overall private assets under management are expected to grow to $24.1 trillion by 2029, from $18.7 trillion at the end of 2024, according to a report by PitchBook.

Carlyle's AUM rose 6% to $453 billion in the quarter, thanks to growth in its global credit segment and in AlpInvest, its secondary investments unit.

Distributable earnings, which measures cash that can be returned to shareholders, rose 5.6% to $455.4 million, or $1.14 per share, for the three months ended March 31.

Analysts were expecting 95 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.

So far this year, Carlyle's shares have dropped nearly 21%, as of their last close. Rivals Blackstone, KKR and Apollo have fallen 21%, 21.4% and 21.7%, respectively.