Private equity wields a lot of power to promote diversity. Here’s how Carlyle is upping its efforts

Corporate America has undergone a reckoning in the past few months following the police killing of George Floyd. Even the world of private equity has added its voice to those condemning racism (and, for some, looked inward at their own diversity). Yet private equity has long been a laggard in inclusion for women and underrepresented minorities.

The Carlyle Group, with its mostly white and male leadership, just announced new commitments to diversity not only within its own ranks, but also for the boards of its portfolio companies: The firm declared a goal late last week to have 30% of all board directors in its portfolio companies globally represent women and minorities by 2023. Carlyle commands a heavy-hitting portfolio, recently taking ZoomInfo public. 

PE firms, with their coffers chock full of cash, have a big opportunity to influence diversity in the companies they own. 

“That’s why we’ve set this new goal—because the board has the opportunity to significantly shape an organization,” Carlyle’s head of diversity and inclusion, Kara Helander, told Term Sheet. From conversations she’s having with investors and the firm’s portfolio companies, “There’s a tremendous desire to understand what are the most effective things companies can do. I can tell you that management teams and CEOs are thinking about, ‘How do we lead in the most effective way around this?’” 

Back in 2016, Carlyle committed to ensuring portfolio companies in the U.S. have at least one board member from an underrepresented group within two years of the firm’s ownership. Helander tells Term Sheet that Carlyle just received word that 100% of its companies in U.S. Buyout, the firm’s largest fund, have reached that goal. When it was set four years ago, only 38% of companies in U.S. corporate private equity met the target.

At the end of 2019, 37% of the firm’s employees in the U.S. were ethnic minorities, and almost half of investment professionals hired in the U.S. last year were female, Black, or Latinx. As part of its new goals, Carlyle is now committing to interview at least one Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, or Native American candidate for each open role at the firm. Helander says the firm has “this notion that [diversity] has to be embedded in what we do as a business, and when we do that, it returns value.” Carlyle is also making diversity and inclusion a core part of assessments and incentives for rewards and promotions, Helander tells Term Sheet, and starting in 2021, the firm will be asking employees to set personal goals related to diversity and inclusion.

The news comes as others in the industry have been seeking to up their diversity efforts, such as Blackstone, which is starting to look to historically Black colleges and universities for recruiting. And even before Floyd’s death, there’s been pressure for companies to up the ante to diversify on the exit side. In February, Goldman Sachs announced that the firm won’t take any company public unless it has at least one diverse board member.   

Private equity’s historically glacial pace at improving diversity will leave many skeptical—but Helander, for one, thinks those in her industry are now understanding these issues better.

“Look, I’m hopeful. I am an optimist,” she says.

Anne Sraders

Twitter: @AnneSraders

Email: anne.sraders@fortune.com 

VENTURE DEALS

-Volante Technologies, a Jersey City, New Jersey-based cloud-based payments and financial messaging provider, raised $35 million in funding. Wavecrest Growth Partners led the round, and was joined by investors including BNY Mellon, Citi Ventures, PostePay and Visa Inc.

- Palmetto, a Charleston, S.C.-based provider of software to manage solar energy, raised $29 million in Series B funding from investors including Evergy Ventures, Arctern Ventures, Shell Ventures, Greycroft, Lerer Hippeau, Box Group, Falkon Ventures and the Leto Family Office.

-Ecoplant, an Israel-based software platform to optimisize compressed air systems, raised $8 million in Series A funding from Ecolab. Read more. 

-Trobix Bio, an Israel-based biotech focused on fighting antimicrobial resistance, raised $3 Million in Series A funding led by Chartered Opus. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

-thyssenkrupp, a Germany-based industrial engineering conglomerate, closed the sale of its elevator business to a consortium of private equity investors including Advent International, Cinven, and RAG Foundation, for €17.2 billion ($20.3 billion). Read more. 

-Paya, an Atlanta-based ecommerce payments solutions provider owned by GTCR, will go public via blank-check company FinTech Acquisition Corp III. The merger values Paya at around $1.3 billion. Read more.

-TerSera Therapeutics, owned by GTCR, agreed to acquire product Xermelo (telotristat ethyl) from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LXRX), a Woodlands, Texas-based biopharmaceutical company, for $159 million in an upfront payment.

-PAI Partners is in exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Amplitude Surgical, a France-based orthopedic products developer, for €2.15 ($2.53) per share, from Apax Partners. Read more.

-KKR agreed to acquire a majority stake in MasterD, a Zaragoza, Spain-based company that provides vocational training and educational services. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

OTHERS

-Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok, the video sharing app owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance and popularized by Gen Z users, as President Trump has considered banning the app, outlets including The New York Times report citing sources. Microsoft confirmed in a statement that the company will pursue the acquisition and will complete talks by September 15. Other investors may join Microsoft in the deal, the company said. Read more. 

-Seven & i Holdings Co., the parent of 7-Eleven, will acquire Speedway, an Enon, Ohio-based convenience store and gas station chain, from Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) for $21 billion in cash. 

-Siemens Healthineers AG agreed to acquire Varian, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based cancer treatment software and devices developer, for $16.4 billion in all-cash. Read more.

-Metro Bank agreed to acquire RateSetter, a London-based peer-to-peer platform that connects investors with borrowers, for an initial payment of £2.5 million ($3.3 million). 

-Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) agreed to acquire a 6.6% stake in ADT, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based home security services provider, for $450 million. 

-Mitratech acquired Tracker Corp, a San Francisco-based Form I-9 immigration compliance management software provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.  

-Royal Dutch Shell’s Australia unit will acquire Select Carbon, an Australia-based carbon farming company that partners with farmers and landowners. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read more.

BREAKUPS, HANGUPS, AND BANKRUPTCIES

-Noble Corp, a London-based offshore oil-and-gas rigs contractor, filed for bankruptcy protection. 

-Mood Media, an Austin-based provider of multi-media, scents, and music for businesses including hotels and retailers, filed for bankruptcy protection. 

-Denbury Resources, a Plano, Texas-based oil and natural gas company, filed for bankruptcy protection. 

-Lord & Taylor, the storied luxury department store, filed for bankruptcy protection. Read more.

-Tailored Brands, the Houston-based parent of men’s clothing stores Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse, filed for bankruptcy protection.  

IPOS

-Burgundy Technology Acquisition, a Cayman Islands-based blank check company led by former CEO of HP Leo Apotheker, plans to raise up to $400 million in an IPO. It is targeting investments in technology companies in Europe, Israel, and the U.S. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “BTAQU”. Read more.

-Star Peak Energy Transition, a Evanston, Ill.-based blank check company formed by Magnetar Capital, plans to raise up to $350 million in an IPO. It is targeting investments in the sustainable energy industry. It plans to list on the NYSE as “STPK.U”. Read more. 

-CSR Acquisition, a Wilmington, Del.-based blank check company led by Blue Harbour Group founder and CEO Clifton Robbins, plans to raise up to $300 million in an IPO. It is targeting investments with strong growth prospects and high barriers to entry, among other criteria. It plans to list on the NYSE as “CSRA.U”. Read more. 

-BCTG Acquisition, a San Diego, Calif.-based blank check company formed by Boxer Capital, plans to raise up to $125 million in an IPO. It is targeting investments in the biotechnology industry. It plans to list on the Nasdaq as “BCTG”. Read more. 

-Kymera Therapeutics, a Watertown, Mass.-based preclinical biotech developing protein degradation technology, plans to raise up to $100 million in an IPO. Atlas Venture Partners (26.8% pre-offering), Lilly Ventures Fund I, the venture arm spun out from Eli Lilly (6.5%), and Pzifer (5.2%) are among the company’s backers. It plans to list on the Nasdaq but has not yet chosen a symbol. Read more. 

-Checkmate Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass.-based clinical stage biotech working on therapies for immunity to fight cancer, plans to raise $75 million in an IPO by offering 5 million shares priced between $14 and $16. It plans to list on the plans to list on the Nasdaq as “CMPI”. Read more.

F+FS

-Greycroft, a New York City-based venture capital firm, is raising $300 million for its sixth fund. Read more.

PEOPLE

-Sequoia Capital added George Robson as a partner in Europe. Robson was previously a product lead at Revolut. Read more.