A PYMNTS Company

US: Carlyle Group avoids price-fixing class action with settlement

By  |  September 2, 2014

Carlyle Group has become the last private equity group to settle allegations of price-fixing after it reached an agreement to pay $115 million to avoid a trial.

According to reports, Carlyle was the final holdout of a group of private equity firms accused of manipulating the competition for assets. Among the accused are Blackstone, KKR, Silver Lake Partners, TPG and Goldman Sachs, all of which settled to avoid a trial.

Carlyle’s settlement comes just days before a decision over whether to certify the lawsuit as a class action. Reports say Carlyle could have been forced to pay as much as $10 billion to the class if found guilty of the allegations.

Reports say the price-fixing claims relate to emails beginning in 2007 regarding the purchase of HCA hospital group by Bain Capital, KKR and Merrill Lynch. The deal is the largest leveraged buyout on record, reports say.

Full content: Jewish Business News

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.