About Carlyle AlpInvest

• Founded: 2020 (as combined entity following Carlyle's acquisition of AlpInvest)

• Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands and New York, US

• AUM: Over $85bn as of 2023

• Strategy: Secondaries across GP-led continuation vehicles, LP portfolio sales, and direct secondaries

• Track record: Prior single-asset funds include debut vehicle closed at $1.2bn in 2022; active in both primary and secondary private equity investments globally

• Leadership: Wim Borgdorff (Global Head of Secondaries), Greg Belinfanti (Co-Head of Americas Secondaries)

Carlyle AlpInvest closed its second dedicated single-asset continuation fund at $1.7bn, a 42% increase over its debut $1.2bn vehicle from 2022. The fund targets single-asset or concentrated continuation vehicles where GPs seek to extend hold periods on marquee portfolio companies. No specific assets backing this vehicle were disclosed at close.

The jump in fund size signals sustained LP appetite for single-asset secondaries despite broader market repricing. Carlyle AlpInvest's first fund deployed into high-profile CVs including continuation vehicles for software and healthcare assets, typically at modest discounts to last-round marks. The firm's ability to scale the strategy reflects both deal flow — GPs are structuring more single-asset CVs as exit windows remain narrow — and investor confidence in the platform's ability to underwrite concentrated bets on individual companies held beyond original fund terms.

The $1.7bn close also positions Carlyle AlpInvest to compete for larger single-asset processes, which have grown in average size from $300m–500m deals in 2021 to $700m–1bn+ transactions in 2023–24. As GPs lean harder on CVs to manage portfolio maturity and LP liquidity pressure, the question is whether pricing holds: early 2024 data from Jefferies showed single-asset CV pricing tightening to low-single-digit discounts, down from 10–15% discounts a year prior. If that trend continues, secondary buyers will face thinner margins on what are already high-concentration, extended-duration commitments.

Source: Buyouts Insider