Sunday, March 17, 2013

Carlyle Group-Iran Dealings Not News

The Carlyle Group included information on an affiliate's sales to Iran in its recent 10-K filing with the SEC.  Applus promotes itself as one of the world's leading companies in industrial testing, inspection and certification.  Applus sold services worth €1,189,532 to Iran with estimated net profits of approximately €200,000.


Blackstone and KKR, fellow private equity underwriters (PEU's), had Iranian disclosures of their own. It doesn't hurt to have a toehold in Iran for when the U.S. and our 51st state open it up for Western commerce. Libya is instructive for how this might happen

Not one reporter from Bloomberg, WSJ, FT, Dealbook or CNBC went out on a limb to report this fact.  It'd be more like a plank, given the reporter would lose access to modern day Robber Barons, Carlyle's David Rubenstein, KKR's Henry Kravis & Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman.  They might lose their job for reporting any facts that would put such great men in a bad light.

Corporate narcissists are exceedingly good at managing their image, i.e. keeping their good name.

Update 3-24-13:  Even DowJones couldn't find it in their piece on corporate responsibility and near universal Iran sanctions.

Update 2-28-13:  Quartz reported on a number of U.S. companies doing business with Iran, including PEU's.