The Carlyle Group has hired six people to establish their own energy investment team after an 11-year co-operation with Riverstone Holdings ended in 2011, according to a report by Reuters. Both companies had jointly launched six funds focused on buyouts in the energy and power sector.
“Industry experts forecast global energy demand to grow dramatically over the next decade,” Carlyle said in a statement.
“Energy production and infrastructure is expected to grow dramatically in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia to meet this demand. This environment will increase the need for capital investment globally.”
The new team will be based in London and will be headed by Marcel van Poecke.
It reportedly plans to raise a new fund of around $1.5bn and “will focus on oil and gas exploration and production, midstream, oil-field services and refining and marketing in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia.”
Although Africa is included in the intended investment regions, there are no indications yet how much of the fund will be invested in sub-Saharan Africa or whether the main focus will be on northern Africa.
Carlyle already has $28 billion of energy investments, made through its general buyout funds, its infrastructure fund and its middle-market funds, but this is its first dedicated energy fund and investment team outside North America.
Carlyle, the world’s second-largest private equity firm, opened offices in Johannesburg and Lagos, Nigeria, in the past two years.
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