Carlyle Group plans $726.5 million IPO

Carlyle Group, the second-largest US private-equity firm, may raise as much as $726.5 million in its initial public offering. The sale would value the Washington, D.C.-based company at up to $7.6 billion, according to papers filed with the SEC today. Carlyle plans to offer 30.5 million shares, 10% of the company for $23 to $25 each as early as May 2 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Founders William Conway, Daniel D'Aniello and David Rubenstein are not expected to sell any of their shares. Carlyle had $147 billion in assets under management as of the end of last year. The IPO will value it at about half of Blackstone Group

, which has about $166 billion under management. The New York-based firm went public in 2007 at a value of $33.5 billion. Now the company's value is about half that. Carlyle's IPO pricing seems to be based on the same method used to offer its companies on the stock exchange. Typically the company files with a lower valuate and shares sell higher after the IPO. The offering of Dunkin' Brands Group

earlier this year shows that trend. The shares closed the first day of trading in July at $27.28 and ended the week at $29.66. The stock has traded under its IPO price, but closed Friday at $31.37. If investors can see a comparable for Carlyle in less than a year, the stock would be bucking a trend. Fellow private equity firms Blackstone, Apollo Global Management

, Fortress Investment Group

and Oaktree Capital Group

have all declined since their public offerings. Fortress Investment Group filed with the SEC to sell shares for $18.50 in early 2007. Last week the shares were trading for less than $5. Oaktree Capital, which had its IPO last week, raised less than anticipated and had stock decline the day after the offering. The Los Angeles-based firm sold 8.84 million shares for $43 each, the bottom of the company's proposed range, raising about $380 million in capital. The company had been hoping to sell 11.3 million shares for as much as $46 each, according to filings with the SEC. Oaktree's reception was expected to be a key indicator for Carlyle, which had originally filed for an IPO in September and delayed the process because of the turbulent market. So far this year Carlyle has made purchases internationally, acquiring 85% of Ri Happy, Brazil's largest toy retailer, in March and in January buying 48% of Bahcesehir Koleji, an education provider in Turkey. Carlyle earned $2.85 billion in 2011, 1.7% more than a year earlier. Distributable earnings have climbed from $165.3 million in 2009, to $342.5 million in 2010 and $864.4 million in 2011.