Executives at BlackRock Inc. discussed buying Carlyle Group Inc. earlier this year after the private equity giant pushed out its chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the discussions that it didn’t identify.
The world’s biggest asset manager ultimately decided against a takeover, the newspaper reported. The size of the deal and the turmoil at the buyout firm were two reasons that put it off, the FT reported.
Representatives for BlackRock and Carlyle didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Carlyle is searching for CEO after the board lost confidence in then-CEO Kewsong Lee in August. Co-founder Bill Conway, 73, has been running the business since then and the search is expected to extend into next year.
The board has a list of candidates that includes credit head Mark Jenkins, 55, and private equity investment chief Pete Clare, 57, though it’s debating whether the job should go to someone from the outside, Bloomberg reported Monday. It was still interviewing external prospects at the end of last month and the firm hasn’t set a hard deadline on choosing a permanent head.
