Thursday, March 13, 2008

Carlyle Brand Takes a Licking


Carlyle Capital Corporation declared it couldn't meet its loan obligations and will likely collapse. The publicly traded investment vehicle is comprised of U.S. backed AAA mortgage securities. The Carlyle Group lauded CCC's public offering last year on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

The politically connected investment firm washed it hands of its progeny in a press release issued earlier this week. The death knell came yesterday. IPO'd July 2007, DOA March 2008.

Investors stand to lose $600 million. They clearly aren't having a William Conway, "Make me money" kind of moment. How will this impact those future Carlyle public offerings frequently cited by David Rubenstein?

I would suggest a New Orleans style funeral dirge for the deceased investment vehicle, but that would be in bad taste as Carlyle's LifeCare Hospitals lost 24 patients in their Big Easy LTAC after Hurricane Katrina. Thus, it's not the first time the PEU boys on Pennsylvania Avenue couldn't ride to the rescue.