Carlyle: Who needs an IPO when you have investors from Abu Dhabi?

At the Private Equity Analyst Conference in New York yesterday, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, David Rubenstein, has continued to be oblique on the question of going public. Hey, in light of the Blackstone (NYSE: BX) debacle, I can understand why.

Well, according to the Wall Street Journal [a paid service], Carlyle is taking another approach (at least for now). That is, the firm has snagged a $1.35 billion private investment from Mubadala Development Company, which is part of Abu Dhabi. Essentially, this places a hefty $20 billion valuation on Carlyle.

It's an important move. Carlyle wants to have a permanent source of capital, which can help with minority investment opportunities and even buying up other private equity firms.

Plus, in order to keep up the growth momentum, Carlyle needs to expand into new markets, such as the Middle East.

The investment points out something else: Abu Dhabi is quite bullish on the global financial markets. Besides its Carlyle investment, the government (which controls the United Arab Emirates) is also taking a large position in the Nasdaq as well as the London Stock Exchange.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.