Carlyle Names Goldman’s Mancini Co-Head of Infrastructure

Carlyle Group LP (CG), the second- largest private-equity firm by assets, appointed Robert Mancini from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) as co-head of its infrastructure fund.

Mancini, 54, is a managing director at Goldman Sachs and also chief executive officer of Cogentrix Energy LLC, a power producer that Carlyle agreed to acquire from Goldman Sachs on Sept. 7, the Washington-based buyout firm said today in a statement. Mancini will join Carlyle after the completion of the acquisition during the fourth quarter, Carlyle said.

Carlyle is expanding investments into energy and infrastructure beyond its joint venture with Riverstone Holdings LLC, the New York-based private-equity firm that partnered with Carlyle starting in 2000. Riverstone, founded by two former Goldman Sachs executives, is raising money without Carlyle for the first time as it seeks $6 billion for a new energy fund.

“Bob’s wealth of experience in leading the acquisition, development and operation of power generating facilities will play a significant role as we pursue an active program of acquiring and developing power projects across North America,” Robert Dove, whom Mancini will join as the fund’s co-head, said in the statement.

Carlyle Infrastructure Partners, which began investing in September 2006 with $1.1 billion, had a negative 5 percent net internal rate of return at the end of the second quarter. Investments in the fund include Illinois Central School Bus LLC and ITS Technologies & Logistics LLC, which lifts containers onto and off of trains and trucks, according to Carlyle’s website.

Carlyle’s acquisition of Goldman Sachs-backed Cogentrix includes five coal and solar power projects in Florida, Virginia, Colorado and California. The deal, whose value wasn’t disclosed, also included Charlotte, North Carolina-based Cogentrix staff.

To contact the reporter on this story: Devin Banerjee in New York at dbanerjee2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net