Carlyle Group, the private equity giant, has abandoned its second attempt to raise capital for a Russia-specific fund because of the depth o...

Carlyle Group, the private equity giant, has abandoned its second attempt to raise capital for a Russia-specific fund because of the depth of investors' concerns about the country's risk profile. The fund had a $300 million target and was scrapped because investors have been alarmed over the course of the last twelve months about the direction of economic reform in Russia, according to reports in the US media. The firm's failure to raise a fund provides a very strong signal about the institutional and private client appetite for Russia at the moment as Carlyle has a reputation as something of a private equity trailblazer and has often been first to move into previously unexplored regions. The group has recently beefed up its Russian operations by appointing Andrei Terekhov and Joshua Larson. Elsewhere, Carlyle has been enjoying remarkable success. The firm recently announced the final close of its $7.8 billion US buy-out fund and $2.2 billion European buy-out fund, consolidating its position as one of the largest private equity firms in the world. Its debut European CLO fund, which will invest mainly in Euro-denominated senior secured and mezzanine leveraged loans, closed on €450 million this April.