Two Carlyle Group Execs Reportedly Leaving As Company Revs Up Real Estate Strategy In Asia
Two of Carlyle Group's most senior real estate executives are leaving the company, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources because the departures have not yet been announced.
The investment giant is also reportedly planning to revise its Asian real estate efforts to focus more on Chinese properties.
Carlyle neither confirmed nor denied the departure of execs Adam Metz, head of international real estate, and Jason Lee, head of Asia real estate, when asked by Bloomberg. Carlyle likewise answered "no comment" when queried on the matter by Bisnow.
Metz joined Carlyle in 2013. He had served as CEO of GGP Inc. between 2008 and 2010 where he oversaw the REIT's bankruptcy and restructuring. Lee has been a Carlyle employee since 1996.
Carlyle’s new co-chief executive officers, Glenn Youngkin and Kewsong Lee, who came on board at the beginning of 2018, are reportedly reconsidering the focus of the company’s global real estate business. The main new thrust: more investment in China.
Historically, Carlyle’s Asian real estate investments have taken a backseat to its investments in the U.S. and Europe. The company's most recent U.S.-oriented fund launched in 2014 at $4.16B, while its last Europe-focused fund closed in 2007 at $3.4B.
In 2016, the company started investing in Carlyle China Realty, a $120M fund. Before that, the company had invested in two Asia-focused funds managing about $900M of total assets, including office buildings in Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai, and shopping centers in China.
