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Commitments and Contingencies | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | 9. Commitments and Contingencies Capital Commitments The Company and its unconsolidated affiliates have unfunded commitments totaling $3.7 billion as of December 31, 2023, of which approximately $3.1 billion is subscribed individually by senior Carlyle professionals, advisors and other professionals. I n addition to these unfunded commitments, the Company may from time to time exercise its right to purchase additional interests in its investment funds that become available in the ordinary course of their operations. Under the Carlyle Global Capital Markets platform, certain subsidiaries of the Company may act as an underwriter, syndicator or placement agent for security offerings and loan originations. The Company earns fees in connection with these activities and bears the risk of the sale of such securities and placement of such loans, which may be longer dated. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no commitments related to the origination and syndication of loans and securities under the Carlyle Global Capital Markets platform. Guaranteed Loans From time to time, the Company or its subsidiaries may enter into agreements to guarantee certain obligations of the investment funds related to, for example, credit facilities or equity commitments. Certain consolidated subsidiaries of the Company are the guarantors of revolving credit facilities for certain funds in the Global Investment Solutions segment. The guarantee is limited to the lesser of the total amount drawn under the credit facilities or the total of net asset value of the guarantor subsidiaries plus any uncalled capital of the applicable general partner, and was approximately $10.4 million as of December 31, 2023. The outstanding balances are secured by uncalled capital commitments from the underlying funds and the Company believes the likelihood of any material funding under this guarantee to be remote. Contingent Obligations (Giveback) A liability for potential repayment of previously received performance allocations of $44.0 million at December 31, 2023, was shown as accrued giveback obligations in the consolidated balance sheets, representing the giveback obligation that would need to be paid if the funds were liquidated at their current fair values at December 31, 2023. However, the ultimate giveback obligation, if any, generally is not paid until the end of a fund’s life or earlier if the giveback becomes fixed and early payment is agreed upon by the fund’s partners (see Note 2). As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had $11.5 million and $10.4 million, respectively, of unbilled receivables from former and current employees and senior Carlyle professionals related to giveback obligations. Any such receivables are collateralized by investments made by individual senior Carlyle professionals and employees in Carlyle-sponsored funds. In addition, $145.4 million and $135.9 million have been withheld from distributions of carried interest to senior Carlyle professionals and employees for potential giveback obligations as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Such amounts are held on behalf of the respective current and former Carlyle employees to satisfy any givebacks they may owe and are held by entities not included in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Current and former senior Carlyle professionals and employees are personally responsible for their giveback obligations. As of December 31, 2023, approximately $20.3 million of the Company’s accrued giveback obligation is the responsibility of various current and former senior Carlyle professionals and other former limited partners of the Carlyle Holdings partnerships, and the net accrued giveback obligation attributable to the Company is $23.7 million. If, at December 31, 2023, all of the investments held by the Company’s Funds were deemed worthless, a possibility that management views as remote, the amount of realized and distributed carried interest subject to potential giveback would be $1.6 billion, on an after-tax basis where applicable, of which approximately $0.7 billion would be the responsibility of current and former senior Carlyle professionals. Leases The Company’s leases primarily consist of operating leases for office space in various countries around the world, including its largest offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, London and Hong Kong. These leases have remaining lease terms of one year to 13 years, some of which include options to extend for up to five years and some of which include an option to terminate the leases within one year. The Company also has operating leases for office equipment and vehicles, which are not significant. The Company assesses its lease right-of-use assets for impairment consistent with its impairment assessment of other long-lived assets. In connection with the April 1, 2021 sale of Metropolitan Real Estate, the Company entered into a sublease agreement for a portion of its existing office space in New York. As a result of the sublease transaction, the Company recorded a lease impairment charge of $26.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2021, which was the excess of the carrying value of the associated lease right-of-use asset over its estimated fair value. The Company estimated the fair value using discounted cash flows from the estimated net sublease rental income. The impairment charge is included in general, administrative, and other expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. The following table summarizes the Company’s lease cost, cash flows and other supplemental information related to its operating leases (Dollars in millions):
| Year Ended December 31,
| 2023 |  | 2022
Operating lease cost | $58.5 |  | $56.3
Sublease income | (5.9) |  | (6.0)
Total operating lease cost | $52.6 |  | $50.3
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities | $68.3 |  | $64.1
Weighted-average remaining lease term | 10.4 |  | 10.8
Weighted-average discount rate | 4.3% |  | 4.2%
Maturities of lease liabilities related to operating leases were as follows (Dollars in millions):
Year ending December 31, |
2024 | $66.9
2025 | 63.4
2026 | 60.7
2027 | 61.3
2028 | 60.1
Thereafter | 286.5
Total lease payments | $598.9
Less imputed interest | (110.8)
Total lease liabilities | $488.1
Rent expense was approximately $58.5 million, $56.3 million and $55.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and is included in general, administrative and other expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. Legal Matters In the ordinary course of business, the Company is a party to litigation, investigations, inquiries, employment-related matters, disputes and other potential claims. Certain of these matters are described below. The Company is not currently able to estimate the reasonably possible amount of loss or range of loss, in excess of amounts accrued, for the matters that have not been resolved. The Company does not believe it is probable that the outcome of any existing litigation, investigations, disputes or other potential claims will materially affect the Company or these financial statements in excess of amounts accrued. The Authentix Matter Authentix, Inc. (“Authentix”) was a majority-owned portfolio company in one of the Company’s investment funds, Carlyle U.S. Growth Fund III, L.P. (“CGF III”). When Authentix was owned by CGF III, two of the Company’s employees served on Authentix’s board of directors. After a lengthy sale process, Authentix was sold for an aggregate sale price of $87.5 million. On August 7, 2020, certain of the former minority shareholders in Authentix filed suit in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging that the Authentix board of directors, CGF III, and the Company breached various fiduciary duties by agreeing to a sale of Authentix at an inopportune time and at a price that was too low. Plaintiffs seek damages for a portion of the lost profits from the sale—the difference between the actual sale price and the purported maximum amount for which Authentix could have sold, multiplied by plaintiff’s ownership percentage. Plaintiffs also seek disgorgement of any profits received by the Company stemming from the sale. A trial before the Delaware Court of Chancery was completed in early February 2024. A decision from the court is expected later this year, following post-trial briefing. The former directors of Authentix are covered by indemnification from Authentix and an Authentix insurance policy. The defendants expect to continue to contest the claims vigorously. The Tax Receivable Agreement Matter The Company came into existence on January 1, 2020, when its predecessor, The Carlyle Group, L.P. (the “PTP”), converted from a partnership into a corporation (the “Conversion”). On July 29, 2022, an alleged stockholder of the Company, the City of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Municipal Trust Fund (the “Plaintiff”), filed suit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging a direct claim against the Company for breach of its certificate of incorporation and a derivative claim on behalf of the Company against certain current and former officers and directors of the Company. Plaintiff challenges the receipt, by certain officers of the PTP and certain directors of the general partner of the PTP, of a right to cash payments associated with the elimination of a tax receivable agreement in connection with the Conversion. Plaintiff is seeking monetary damages, restitution, and an injunction preventing the Company from making any future cash payments for the elimination of the tax receivable agreement in connection with the Conversion. By virtue of the derivative nature of the primary claims (i.e., that the claims are aimed primarily at certain officers and directors), it is remote that the Company itself will pay material damage awards based on the Plaintiff’s claims, although the Company is expected to incur legal defense fees to the extent not covered by insurance. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint and expect the court to make a ruling on the motion during 2024. The officer and director defendants intend to contest the claims vigorously. SEC Investigation As part of a sweep investigation of financial services and investment advisory firms, in October 2022, the Company received from the SEC a request for information related to the preservation of certain types of electronic business communications (e.g., text messages and messages on WhatsApp, WeChat, and similar applications). The Company intends to cooperate fully with the SEC’s inquiry. Given the uncertainty of factors that may potentially affect the resolution of the matter, the Company is unable at this time to estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss that may result from this matter. The Company currently is and expects to continue to be, from time to time, subject to examinations, formal and informal inquiries and investigations by various U.S. and non-U.S. governmental and regulatory agencies, including but not limited to, the SEC, Department of Justice, state attorneys general, FINRA, National Futures Association and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. The Company routinely cooperates with such examinations, inquiries and investigations, and they may result in the commencement of civil, criminal, or administrative or other proceedings against the Company or its personnel. It is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of all pending investigations and legal proceedings and employment- related matters, and some of the matters discussed above involve claims for potentially large and/or indeterminate amounts of damages. Based on information known by management, management does not believe that as of the date of this filing the final resolutions of the matters above will have a material effect upon the Company’s consolidated financial statements. However, given the potentially large and/or indeterminate amounts of damages sought in certain of these matters and the inherent unpredictability of investigations and litigations, it is possible that an adverse outcome in certain matters could, from time to time, have a material effect on the Company’s financial results in any particular period. The Company accrues an estimated loss contingency liability when it is probable that such a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had recorded liabilities aggregating to approximately $35 million for litigation-related contingencies, regulatory examinations and inquiries, and other matters. The Company evaluates its outstanding legal and regulatory proceedings and other matters each quarter to assess its loss contingency accruals, and makes adjustments in such accruals, upward or downward, as appropriate, based on management’s best judgment after consultation with counsel. There is no assurance that the Company’s accruals for loss contingencies will not need to be adjusted in the future or that, in light of the uncertainties involved in such matters, the ultimate resolution of these matters will not significantly exceed the accruals that the Company has recorded. Indemnifications In the normal course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries enter into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide general indemnifications. The Company’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Company that have not yet occurred. However, based on experience, the Company believes the risk of material loss to be remote. In connection with the sale of the Company’s interest in its local Brazilian management entity in August 2021, the Company provided a guarantee to the acquiring company of up to BRL 100.0 million ($20.6 million as of December 31, 2023) for liabilities arising from tax-related indemnifications. This guarantee, which will expire in August 2027, would only come into effect after all alternative remedies have been exhausted. The Company believes the likelihood of any material funding under this guarantee to be remote. Risks and Uncertainties Carlyle’s funds seek investment opportunities that offer the possibility of attaining substantial capital appreciation. Certain events particular to each industry in which the underlying investees conduct their operations, as well as general economic, political, regulatory and public health conditions, may have a significant negative impact on the Company’s investments and profitability. The funds managed by the Company may also experience a slowdown in the deployment of capital, which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to raise capital for new or successor funds and could also impact the management fees the Company earns on its carry funds and managed accounts, and/or result in the impairment of intangible assets and/or goodwill the case of the Company’s acquired businesses. Such events are beyond the Company’s control, and the likelihood that they may occur and the effect on the Company cannot be predicted. Furthermore, certain of the funds’ investments are made in private companies and there are generally no public markets for the underlying securities at the current time. The funds’ ability to liquidate their publicly-traded investments are often subject to limitations, including discounts that may be required to be taken on quoted prices due to the number of shares being sold. The funds’ ability to liquidate their investments and realize value is subject to significant limitations and uncertainties, including among others currency fluctuations and natural disasters. The Company and the funds make investments outside of the United States. Investments outside the United States may be subject to less developed bankruptcy, corporate, partnership and other laws (which may have the effect of disregarding or otherwise circumventing the limited liability structures potentially causing the actions or liabilities of one fund or a portfolio company to adversely impact the Company or an unrelated fund or portfolio company). Non-U.S. investments are subject to the same risks associated with the Company’s U.S. investments as well as additional risks, such as fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, heightened risk of political and economic instability, difficulties in managing non-U.S. investments, potentially adverse tax consequences and the burden of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws. Furthermore, Carlyle is exposed to economic risk concentrations related to certain large investments as well as concentrations of investments in certain industries and geographies. Additionally, the Company encounters credit risk. Credit risk is the risk of default by a counterparty in the Company’s investments in debt securities, loans, leases and derivatives that result from a borrower’s, lessee’s or derivative counterparty’s inability or unwillingness to make required or expected payments. The Company is subject to credit risk should a financial institution be unable to fulfill its obligations. The Company considers cash, cash equivalents, securities, receivables, principal equity method investments, accounts payable, accrued expenses, other liabilities, loans, senior notes, assets and liabilities of Consolidated Funds and contingent and other consideration for acquisitions to be its financial instruments. Except for the senior notes, subordinated notes and compensatory contingent and other consideration for acquisitions, the carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for these financial instruments equal or closely approximate their fair values. The fair value of the senior and subordinated notes is disclosed in Note 7.

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