Private-equity firm The Carlyle Group raised $671 million from its initial public offering of 30.5 million common units Thursday, before underwriter commissions and other expenses.
CNBC.com
The company's shares edged up 5 cents to $22.05 in midday trading Thursday on the Nasdaq.
The IPO was priced at $22, below the range of $23 and $25 given by Carlyle in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The stock, which is trading under the "CG" ticker symbol, opened flat.
Carlyle, founded in 1987, plans to use the offering's net proceeds to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. It gave the underwriters an option to buy up to about 4.6 million additional units at the IPO price, minus underwriting discounts.
The firm first filed plans to go public in September, a rocky time in the market when many companies with planned offerings were delaying them. But the market's appetite for IPOs has improved; notable recent non-tech offerings include those of food maker Annie's and mobile advertising company Millennial Media.
Carlyle plans to use the net proceeds from its offering to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. Founded in 1987, Carlyle is among the largest and best-known private-equity firms.
Its portfolio includes more than 200 companies and about $147 billion in assets under management. With two other private-equity firms, it co-owned Dunkin' Brands Group before the restaurant operator's successful IPO last year.
In 2011, the company earned $1.36 billion on revenue of $2.85 billion. Its net income was $49.7 million on revenue of $3.01 billion, on an adjusted basis.
Other private-equity firms were trading lower Thursday. Apollo Global Management gave up 34 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $12.31. KKR & Co. slipped 9 cents to $13.33. The Blackstone Group lost 17 cents to $13.08, and Oaktree Capital Group lost 5 cents to $40.
