Carlyle stakes trade hands

Strategic Partners VII has picked up stakes in the firm's 2007-vintage European technology fund, and 2003- and 2007-vintage European buyout vehicles.

Stakes in Carlyle‘s European funds have traded hands with buyers acquiring interests in at least three of the Washington DC-headquartered investment firm’s vehicles.

Access Capital Partners, French banking group Credit Mutuel and Ardian sold stakes in 2007-vintage Carlyle Europe Technology Partners II and 2014-vintage Technology III, and 2003-vintage Carlyle Europe Partners II and 2007-vintage Europe III, UK regulatory filings from October show.

Finnish investment manager eQ Asset Management picked up the stake sold by Access and Strategic Partners, which used its 2015-vintage Fund VII, acquired the remainder.

In September Secondaries Investor reported that Access had sold a portfolio of 17 fully invested western European mid-market funds to eQ, which raised a €137.5 million vehicle to purchase the assets.

The stakes Ardian sold were part of an $800 million portfolio held in the firm’s 2010-vintage ASF V fund that Strategic Partners acquired in September. The sale represented nearly one quarter of the net asset value of ASF V.

Other transfers of European Carlyle fund stakes took place in early September with Neuberger Berman, disposing of its stakes in CEP II to Strategic Partners, the filings show. The interests were held in Neuberger’s 2004-vintage NB Crossroads XVII and 2007-vintage NB Crossroads XVIII fund of funds vehicles.

Swedish pension fund AP2 sold a stake in CEP III to five separate HarbourVest Partners vehicles, with a majority going to Dover Street IX, the firm’s 2015-vintage $4.8 billion flagship secondaries fund.

Pricing was undisclosed.

According to an investor presentation prepared by Carlyle in August, the 2003-vintage €1.8 billion CEP II has achieved a multiple of 2x and a gross internal rate of return of 43 percent. Its follow-up, the 2007-vintage €5.3 billion CEP III, has returned 2.2x and a gross IRR of 19 percent.

Carlyle, Ardian, Strategic Partners, HarbourVest and AP2 declined to comment. Access Capital, Neuberger Berman, eQ and Credit Mutuel did not respond to requests for comment.