Carlyle Group

Medline Industries

$34B take-private — the largest PE-backed healthcare deal ever. Three mega-firms needed to split the equity check. Heavily levered medical supply distributor in a margin-compressed industry. The Mills family took chips off the table; PE is holding the bag at peak multiples.

Active — consortium holding at $34B. Largest PE healthcare deal in history. IPO path unclear.

Hertz Global Holdings

CD&R/Carlyle/Merrill took Hertz private for $15B in 2005 with $12.5B in debt — one of the most leveraged LBOs ever. IPO'd quickly but the debt remained. Filed Chapter 11 in 2020. Emerged under Knighthead/Certares in 2021 with an insane plan to buy 100,000 Teslas. The EV fleet was a disaster — maintenance costs 3x ICE vehicles, depreciation cratered. Sold the EVs at massive losses. Stock went from $35 (2021 peak) to under $3. The same company destroyed twice by leverage and hubris.

Stock crashed from $35 to $3 post-EV debacle. Second near-death cycle. Athena Technology and Bill Ackman taking stakes.

Dunkin' Brands

Three PE firms (Bain/Carlyle/THL) bought Dunkin' for $2.4B in 2006, loaded it with debt, extracted dividends, and IPO'd in 2011. The franchise-heavy model (no company-owned stores) meant the debt was more manageable. Roark Capital's Inspire Brands took Dunkin' private again for $11.3B in 2020 at 18x EBITDA. Now part of a mega-restaurant platform. 5x price inflation over 14 years. The current $11.3B bet depends on perpetual franchise growth from a mature brand.

Private under Roark Capital's Inspire Brands at $11.3B. Now combined with Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, Jimmy John's.

Freescale Semiconductor

Four of the world's largest PE firms teamed up to buy Freescale for $17.6B in 2006 — the largest tech LBO at the time. Loaded with $12B in debt on a cyclical semiconductor business. The 2008 crisis crushed chip demand. Near-bankruptcy in 2009, survived through debt exchanges. Sold to NXP in 2015 for $11.8B — a $5.8B loss from the LBO price. The consortium collected hundreds of millions in fees while the business was strangled by interest payments. Semiconductors need massive R&D investment; PE gave it massive debt service instead.

Absorbed into NXP at $11.8B — 33% below the $17.6B LBO price. Four PE firms lost billions.

CommScope

Carlyle took CommScope private in 2011, re-IPO'd in 2013, but maintained control. Under Carlyle's direction, CommScope acquired ARRIS International for $7.4B in 2019, funded almost entirely with debt. The ARRIS deal was supposed to be transformative. Instead, it added $9.5B in total debt to a company with declining revenues. Stock dropped from $38 to under $3. Carlyle exited with a profit from early share sales. The public market shareholders and employees are holding the bag on a debt-fueled acquisition that destroyed value.

Public but deeply distressed. $9.5B in debt from Carlyle-era ARRIS acquisition. Stock down 90% from peak. Debt trades at 60 cents.