Monday, November 10, 2008

Carlyle Group Wins U.S. PEU of Year


The Carlyle Group sashayed down the runway with their award, Private Equity Underwriter of the Year-United States. They spent the last year dieting to look good for the bathing suit competition. A dark secret revealed the PEU resorted to gorging and purging to keep their weight down, and investor returns up.

It turns out Carlyle threw up acquired firms' value. Private Equity Analyst had the following headline, "Carlyle: 7 Of 32 U.S. LBO Portfolio Cos. Now Valued Below Cost." The ugly side of competition reared its head, yet again. Greed and leverage are amazingly resilient.