Carlyle returns to Q3 profit

The alternative asset manager followed the performance gains posted by peers Blackstone Group LP and KKR & Co LP, which too saw their funds appreciate in the third quarter amid a buoyant stock market and profitable exits from the sale of assets.

In the case of Carlyle, most of the boost in asset value came from its public holdings, which benefited from the stock market rally.

Carlyle's private equity portfolio rose 5 percent in value in the quarter versus a 7.1 percent rise in Blackstone's private equity funds and a 6 percent increase in the private equity holdings of KKR.

Carlyle's co-chief executive William Conway, who founded the Washington, D.C.-based firm in 1987 with David Rubenstein and Daniel D'Aniello, said Carlyle, which has been active in leveraged buyouts this year, had worked hard to invest wisely and create value for its investors.

Carlyle coughed up $1.6 billion as equity in 86 new or follow-on investments in the third quarter. It has committed to invest more than $4 billion in equity in 10 transactions that were announced in the third quarter but are expected to close in upcoming quarters.

We believe that the United States, Europe and emerging markets - from Brazil to Turkey to China - are great places to invest right now, Conway said in a statement.

Carlyle reported third-quarter economic net income (ENI), a

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