Carlyle is exploring a multibillion-dollar structured financing designed to support the launch of its next flagship buyout fund, Carlyle Partners IX, according to Bloomberg sources.

The transaction, known internally as “Project Potomac,” would also provide liquidity to investors in some of the firm’s older private equity funds, people familiar with the matter have said. 

The financing structure is expected to combine senior debt, preferred shares, and common equity. Investors in existing Carlyle funds would transfer stakes into a new investment vehicle that provides both cash and equity exposure. That vehicle would then invest in Carlyle Partners IX.

The approach resembles a collateralised fund obligation, a structure that bundles stakes in multiple funds into a special-purpose vehicle. The combined assets can then be used as collateral to raise debt and equity financing.

Pooling fund interests allows asset managers to borrow more efficiently than raising financing against a single portfolio company. It can also provide capital for new investments and help return money to limited partners.

AlpInvest, Carlyle’s secondaries business, is reportedly structuring the transaction.

Carlyle has recently increased distributions to investors. The firm returned about $18bn last year and signed or completed $7.5bn in exits during the first two months of 2026.

The Washington-based firm has also outlined ambitious growth plans. Carlyle aims to raise at least $200bn of capital by 2028, including $50bn for global private equity, $90bn for credit strategies, and at least $60bn for AlpInvest.

Fundraising for Carlyle Partners IX has not yet begun. The new financing vehicle could provide early capital to support the next generation of Carlyle’s flagship buyout strategy.

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