Reuters – The Carlyle Group is raising a new Asia buyout fund with a target size of up to $3 billion (1.8 billion pounds) as the U.S. private equity giant aims to tap more deals in Asia, two fund industry sources told Reuters on Friday.

It would be Carlyle’s third Asia-dedicated buyout fund and its biggest such fund in the region.

Its last Asia buyout fund launched in July 2006 raised $1.8 billion, which has been invested in various projects across the region, including a landmark deal with China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, China’s No. 3 life insurer.

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Tags: industry sources, landmark deal, Private Equity

British asset manager Blue Crest is winding down its Specialty Asset Finance Fund after losses and redemptions forced the fund to close many positions at a heavy loss, sources familiar with the fund told Reuters.

BlueCrest declined to comment on the fund.

Three industry sources said the fund, which had assets of $200 million late last year, is one of many using an asset based lending (ABL) Strategy to be vexed by redemptions this year, with leveraged funds such as BlueCrest’s hit particularly hard.

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Tags: asset based lending, asset finance, asset-manager, assets, bluecrest, crest, finance fund, industry sources, leveraged funds, losses, redemptions, reuters

Telegraph.co.uk – Industry sources say private equity and distressed debt specialists have raised about $26bn (£17bn) since the start of October, with some 80pc coming from hedge funds.

Distressed debt funds, which buy debt that is trading at a discount because the borrower is at risk of defaulting, have been around for years but specialists are looking forward to a bonanza year in 2009.

Among the biggest distressed debt fund raisings since October have been Oaktree, which has secured $10.5bn, Towerbrook with $2.75bn, Intermediate Capital with $1.5bn, and Alchemy with $1bn. Hedge funds are also aiming to buy distressed debt directly from banks that are under pressure to offload liabilities to shore up their balance sheets.

Secondary debt, even senior loan notes, often trade below 70p in the pound and yield 25pc over five years if the debt is held – and survives – to maturity. If a company is strugglings with its covenants, debt holders can strike debt-for-equity swaps in return for keeping a company afloat – often a cost effective way of getting a seat at the table or control of a business.

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Tags: alchemy, balance sheets, banks, bonanza, covenants, debt fund, debt funds, debt holders, distressed-debt, industry sources, liabilities, maturity, oaktree, risk, seat at the table, swaps, telegraph, towerbrook