Carlyle hires Plainfield exec for debt IR

Debra Pedersen, former managing director at Plainfield Asset Management, will take over investor relations and fundraising for Carlyle’s global leveraged finance division.

The 39-person team's high yield, mezzanine and special situations funds mostly invest in below investment-grade synthetic corporate loans and bonds. Under chief investment officer Mike Ramsay, the team manages $13 billion in assets and was recently regrouped into a global platform following dissolution of its Asian leveraged finance group amid the financial downturn.

Last year, the division launched Carlyle High Yield Partners 2008, a $500 million US loan fund investing in below investment-grade debt. The firm also collected $553 million in March for its second mezzanine fund, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II.

The Washington, DC-based global private equity firm manages $84.5 billion in total assets, with investments across sectors and continents in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance.

Carlyle is known for having a robust in-house fundraising team, but earlier this year was penalised for its alleged role in a kick-back scandal involving finders and the New York State Common Retirement Fund. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo arranged a settlement with the the firm, which saw Carlyle pay $20 million to “resolve its role” as well as agree to a code of conduct preventing it from using placement agents or other third parties in the US.