News Release
Carlyle announces ESG-linked credit facility in Europe at €2.3 billion tied to advancing board diversity and other ESG targets
Revolving credit facility to support Carlyle’s goal of 30% board diversity across its European portfolio, along with carbon footprinting targets and ESG training for Carlyle board directors
London, UK, 07 September 2021 – Global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has secured a €2.3 billion ESG-linked credit facility for its European private equity and real estate platform, to support the firm’s 30% board diversity target, and to address climate change and achieve better ESG outcomes through training. The new facility represents the next step in Carlyle’s ongoing commitment in Europe to drive further positive ESG change.
Earlier this year, Carlyle secured the largest ESG-linked private equity credit facility in the US for $4.1 billion which was the industry’s first facility to focus exclusively on advancing board diversity. The European facility builds on this example and reaffirms Carlyle’s commitment to working alongside its portfolio companies to achieve its 30% board diversity goal, with near-term step-up targets. Carlyle recognises that board diversity contributes to more deliberative decision-making processes and more effective governance. The firm’s own research has shown that the average earnings growth of Carlyle portfolio companies with two or more diverse board members is approximately 12% greater per year than companies that lack diversity.
In addition to diversity, this new European facility is linked to two other important sustainability goals:
- tackling climate change by having more accurate and comprehensive measurements of greenhouse gas emissions across all portfolio companies
- improving ESG outcomes through better governance by providing ESG-competent board training for all Carlyle board directors
Kewsong Lee, CEO at Carlyle, said: “For many years Carlyle has been driving significant progress on board diversity in our portfolio companies on a global basis, recognising the correlation with strong financial decisions and performance. This European ESG-linked credit facility closely follows that of our Americas private equity platform, and together represent a significant moment in Carlyle’s strategy to reinforce our commitment to achieving greater diverse board-level representation.”
Megan Starr, Global Head of Impact, said: “We are proud that Carlyle is a pioneer in integrating ESG considerations into the financing arrangements of portfolio companies in Europe and the US. In aggregate this represents approximately $10 billion in financings for our US and European private equity funds and illustrates an important milestone in our journey to align successful investment and sustainability outcomes, and deliver long-term value and positive change for all stakeholders.”
NatWest Markets arranged the facility as Lead Arranger and Facility Agent and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank acted as ESG Coordinator and Agent.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- In May 2021, AlpInvest, part of Carlyle’s Investment Solutions business, secured an ESG-linked credit facility for its $3.5 billion Co-Investment Fund VIII.
About Carlyle
Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $276 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2021, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs nearly 1,800 people in 27 offices across five continents. Further information is available at carlyle.com. Follow Carlyle on Twitter @OneCarlyle.
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Andrew Kenny
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