The Carlyle Group took in $10.4bn from investors in the second quarter and nearly doubled its earnings, as it looks to raise what would represent the industry’s biggest ever buyout fund.

Carlyle posted robust second quarter distributable earnings growth on Thursday, rising to $395.4m from $198.4m in the same period last year.

Assets under management rose 12 per cent on the year to date to £276bn, and its fee-earning assets under management broke records at $175bn.

The buyout group raised $10.4bn in the quarter, bringing its total fundraising for the year-to-date to $18.2bn. It comes a week after it emerged that the firm was chasing a target of $27bn for its latest flagship fund, in what would represent the industry’s biggest ever private equity fund.

Carlyle invested $8.1bn in new deals in the second quarter, it said in the statement. This included an undisclosed amount in British online fashion retailer End.

The group committed to spending $6bn on new deals as part of its plan for growth over the coming years, focusing on big tech and healthcare deals, such as its recent acquisition of a majority stake in Medline Industries Inc.

Read more/Source: City AM